When You and I Collide
by AmandaMarieJohnson333
Summary: What happens when "friends with benefits" turns out to be a lot more complicated than either of them thought? Will love triumph or will an unexpected mistake ruin everything between them?
1. Chapter 1

Spike watched Buffy from the other side of the bedroom as she put on her clothes. As he watched her, him still completely naked, he lit a cigarette and took a puff of it.

"Those things are gonna kill you" Buffy told him, brushing out her hair and fixing her makeup.

"Haven't so far, luv" Spike told her, taking another puff. She just rolled her eyes at him. She had had this conversation with him way too many times and decided to give up. If he wanted to smoke it was his business. Holding on to the dresser for balance she put on her boots and straightened out her skirt.

"I should…" she gestured to the door and he just nodded. She never stayed longer than it took for them to have sex and then she was gone. "Okay, I'll see ya later."

"Later it is then, Goldilocks" he told her, snuffing his cigarette out in the ashtray on his nightstand and walking up to her. "You were amazing" he whispered, running his hand up her arm to her shoulder.

"You weren't so bad yourself" Buffy told him, putting her hands on his chest. She closed her eyes as he began to kiss her shoulder. "I really have to go, my mom and sisters are waiting. Family dinner."

Spike placed a soft kiss on her lips and she smiled at him.

"Thanks, I really needed that tonight" she told him. He smirked at her.

"Anytime, pet." She gave him one last smile before leaving his room and shutting the door behind her. He sighed, hearing her open the front door and leave the house. He flopped down on his bed, still naked, and lit another cigarette.

Buffy and Spike had been friends for many years, but had only recently started a sexual relationship. Buffy liked that there were no strings and the whole "friends with benefits" riff. Spike on the other hand… It wasn't that he didn't like the sex, of course he did, he just wished that there could be more between them, but Buffy was clear about not wanting anything serious and he figured it was better having this much than nothing at all.

Buffy walked into her house through the front door and hung up her jacket.

"Buffy, you home?" she heard her mother calling from the dining room.

"Yeah, mom" Buffy called back, joining everyone and sitting down. Her mother had food sprawled all around the dining room table and everyone had plates sitting in front of them. "Wow, look at the spread."

"Where were you? We've been waiting and I'm starving" Dawn complained and Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, I was at Willow's and we lost track of time" Buffy lied. No one, not even Buffy's twin sister, Faith, knew about Buffy and Spike's secret relationship. Buffy hated lying to Faith, they shared and talked about everything, but she thought it better no one know what was going on behind Spike's closed door.

"Well you're here now, let's eat before it gets cold" Joyce sighed. She could tell her mother was disappointed she didn't keep her promise and be home on time and she felt guilty.

"I'm sorry, mom."

"It's okay, honey, just try to be more aware next time" Joyce smiled, she was the most forgiving person anyone knew. "So" she expanded the conversation to include all three of her daughters. "How was everyone's day?"

"Mine was great! Kristina Hollinger, the biggest snob in school, tripped in the cafeteria with her lunch tray and it went ALL over here" Dawn beamed.

"Oh, poor girl" Joyce said and Dawn scoffed.

"Poor girl my butt!"

"Dawnie!" Joyce said, surprised. "That's not very nice."

"Mom, she's not very nice, she SO had it coming" Dawn assured her and Joyce shook her head.

"It isn't good karma to wish bad things on other people" she warned her youngest.

"Can we talk about something more interesting?" Faith asked and got a glare from Dawn. "Oh, mom, so can Buffy and I have a car?"

"I haven't decided" Joyce told her and Dawn sighed with frustration.

"Mom, you've been thinking about it for weeks now" she complained.

"Yeah, we've done everything you've asked us to do" Buffy added. They were sixteen and had both had their licenses for a couple months now. They hated having to have their mother drive them around or borrow her car, which she usually said no about.

"We need our own car" Faith continued. "I said we'd get jobs to help pay for gas and insurance."

"Please?" Buffy pleaded. Joyce sat there thinking for a few beats and then sighed.

"Okay, girls" Buffy and Faith's eyes lit up and they both got huge smiles on their faces.

"Oh my god, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" Buffy squealed and her and Faith got up from the table and hugged their mother who laughed at their sudden attack.

"You're welcome, now sit down and finish your dinner" Joyce told them and they returned to their seats, both still smiling.

A half an hour later everyone was done eating and Faith and Buffy were up in their room talking. Buffy was laying on her back on her bed and Faith was sitting at her desk chair.

"This is gonna be so great having our own wheels!" Faith said. Buffy was looking at her phone, scrolling through text messages.

"I know; I can't wait to go car shopping" Buffy said. Her phone beep and a text message from Spike came on her screen.

 _Hey, luv. Busy?_

She knew what he wanted and truth was she wanted it to. She had good news and was in the mood to 'celebrate'. She smiled and texted back.

 _I can be if you play your cards right_

A couple seconds later Spike replied with a winky face.

 _Be over in twenty_ Buffy texted and got off her bed.

"Where you going?" Faith asked as Buffy gathered up her stuff to go out.

"Uh…" Buffy thought quickly. "I'm going back over to Willow's. She and Tara had a fight and she wants to talk about it."

"Want me to come with?" Faith asked and Buffy's heart began to race a little.

"No, no, it's okay" Buffy said, trying not to sound like she was ditching her. "I won't be long and I know you said you had to study for that math test."

"Yeah, I do" Faith said and Buffy silently sighed with relief. The hardest part of this arrangement with Spike was coming up with excuses to go see him. It isn't like it'd be weird if they hung out, they were friends, but people would start getting suspicious if they knew how much time they were spending together.

"I'll be back in an hour or so" Buffy told her and quickly left the room. Faith looked on after her sister, thinking she was acting strange.

"Going to talk to Willow for a little bit, relationship problems" Buffy told her mother. "Can I borrow the car?"

"Sure, honey. Be home at a decent time though" Joyce said, handing her the keys.

"Got it" Buffy said, grabbing her jacket and leaving the house.

It took Buffy only a few minutes to drive to Spikes and when she arrived she knock on the front door. Spike answered a few seconds later. He was a few years older than her and had his own apartment.

"Hey" she greeted him when he opened the door, kissing him on the lips.

"Hey yourself" he said in a seductive tone, pulling her into the apartment. After shutting the door, he kissed her hard on the mouth and she opened her mouth, allowing his tongue access. She moaned and breathed deeply into his mouth as he deepened the kiss. After what seemed like forever, she broke the kiss so she could breathe.

"Wow" she said, stumbling to regain composure. He grabbed her by the shoulders to balance her.

"You ain't seen nothin yet" he told her, pulling her closer to him.

"I have good news" Buffy said as he buried his face in her neck.

"Hmm?" he asked, kissing and sucking gently in the right spots. Buffy closed her eyes in pleasure. He knew exactly how to turn her on.

"Uh…m—my mom said she'd…g—get me and Fai…Faith a car" Buffy struggled to say through her moans and gasps. Spike knew exactly where to touch her and exactly how to get her going. He stopped momentarily and looked at her.

"That's great, luv, you must be excited" he said. She very rarely held conversations with him during these times and he was eager to get her to open up to him.

"It's gonna be awesome" she smiled. "I was getting so sick of asking mom to borrow the car and having to have it back at a certain time." He started kissing her neck again as he put his hand under her shirt, caressing her flat stomach. Her eyes closed again and she bit her bottom lip, trying to control herself as he sucked on her neck and her ear lobe.

"Do you want me, Spike?" she asked through gasps. He stopped what he was doing and looked at her.

"God, yes. Always" he told her. She pulled him into a passionate kiss that seemed to last forever before they broke a part for air. He lifted her up, kissing her again and carried her over to his bed, both of them dropping on to the covers.

Buffy arrived home a couple hours later and walked in through the back door. She hung up her mother's keys on the key rack and went to the fridge for something to drink.

"Hey, Buffy" Dawn said as she entered the kitchen. Buffy sat at the island with a bottle of water.

"Hey, Dawnie. How was your sleepover at Janice's?" Buffy asked her little sister. Dawn joined her at the island after getting a can of soda out of the fridge for herself.

"Good, her mom made homemade pizza" Dawn told her as Faith walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, B. Come upstairs, I wanna show you some cars I found on Craigslist."

"Okay" Buffy said and got up.

"Can I come with you guys" Dawn asked.

"We'll come back down in a while to hang out, Dawnie" Faith said, pulling Buffy upstairs.

Faith practically pulled Buffy's arm out of socket as she hurried her up to their room and shut the door. Once the door was shut she turned to her twin.

"Jeez, watch the arm, I need that you know" Buffy said, pulling her arm out of Faith's grasp and rubbing it. "What's up with you?"

"If I ask you something you have to swear to tell me the truth, like seriously, okay?" Faith told Buffy. Buffy looked at her, confused.

"Okay…" she answered carefully. She had no idea what this could be about. Faith was never this serious.

Faith took a deep breath before speaking. She figured the best way to get this out was just to cut to the chase.

"Are you having sex with Spike?" Faith blurted after a couple beats of silence.


	2. Chapter 2

Buffy's eyes widened when she heard her sister's question. How the hell did she find out? Should she deny it? That wouldn't help, Buffy and Faith were terrible at lying to each other and she would see right through it if she denied it. Faith crossed her arms over her chest after a couple beats of silence.

"I'm taking that as a yes" Faith said, shaking her head. "How did this happen? When did this happen?"

"Faith, you can't tell ANYONE, okay? Swear" Buffy demanded.

"You know me better than that, B. You know I'm not gonna say a damn thing." Buffy sighed with relief and sat on her bed, burring her head in her hands. She had hoped they could go on with their arrangement without anyone ever finding out. "You didn't answer my questions."

Buffy looked at her sister after a moment and sighed.

"It started a few months back" she told her. Faith sat on the bed next to Buffy.

"How did this happen?" Faith asked. Buffy blushed a little.

"Do you really want the details?"

"Not the kinky ones, I just wanna know how you two went from being friends to being fuck buddies" Faith told her and Buffy looked at her, mortified.

"Faith!"

"What? Too direct for you, princess?" Faith joked and Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Do you want the story or not?" Faith nodded, shutting up to let Buffy speak. Buffy sighed, thinking if she should tell Faith about how her and Spike's sexual relationship began. After a moment she decided to continue.

"Okay…"

* Buffy's Memory *

Buffy was sitting in Spike's room, both of them bored out of their minds. Spike was at his computer desk on the internet and Buffy was on Spike's bed, just looking up at the ceiling.

"I feel like I might die from boredom" she told him and he chuckled, turning his chair to face her.

"Wanna play a drinking game?" Spike asked her. Buffy raised her head to look at him with a raise of an eyebrow.

"What kinda drinking game?" she asked, intrigued.

"Never have I ever?" he asked. Buffy smiled a bit and sat up. "Have you ever played?"

"I've played the game, just not with alcohol" Buffy told him. "Okay, sounds fun, let's do it." Spike nodded and went into his closet and retrieved a bottle of Jack Daniels and two shot glasses and joined Buffy on his bed.

"Okay, you start, luv" he told her.

"Okay…" Buffy thought. "Never have I ever…skinny dipped" Spike smirked a bit and poured himself a shot, taking it right down. "Seriously? When?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, Goldilocks" he smirked at her and she rolled her eyes at him. "Okay, my turn. Never have I ever…broken a bone." Buffy took the Jack bottle and poured a shot into her glass and took it down, making a face.

"Ugh, okay, my turn" Buffy said. "Never have I ever…had sex" Spike rolled his eyes and took the jack bottle from her, pouring himself another shot. Buffy smirked a bit, she knew he'd have to drink for that one. "I should make you drink for every girl you've banged, you whore" Buffy joked, pushing him in the arm.

"Yeah, yeah" he told her. "Okay, my turn…"

A half an hour later they were both drunk.

"Never have I ever…" Buffy said, her speech was slurring by now. "Uh….what was I saying?" they both laughed.

"I don't know" Spike said, leaning back on his bed. Buffy leaned back as well.

"Do…do you think it's lame I'm still a virgin?" Buffy asked him. He looked at her, still very drunk, but surprised.

"Course not, luv" he said. "You'll find the right guy one day." There were a couple beats of silence before she turned to him, propping herself up on her elbow.

"What if I want you to be that guy?" she asked, he lifted his head a bit to look at her, in total shock.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"What if I want you to be my first?" she repeated her statement in different words. He sat up and she followed.

"Uh…th—that's not a very good idea, pet" he said, feeling a little uncomfortable. He couldn't believe what she was suggesting.

"I get it, I'm not as attractive as those other girls you were with" Buffy said, feeling a little self-conscious at this time.

"God, no, that's not it at all, Buffy" he assured her. "We're friends, I—I don't want anything we might do to ruin that."

"Well…what if it didn't ruin anything between us? I mean, I think that we're both old enough to be mature about this."

"You're serious aren't you?" he asked, astonished as he got up and faced her. He couldn't believe she was actually suggesting they have sex.

"You want me to be?" she asked in a seductive one as she got up and walked over to him. Their faces were inches apart as she took his hand in his. Before he could answer he felt her lips on his. His first instinct was to pull away, but his hormones got the better of him as he felt her tongue creep into his mouth. He slowly deepened the kiss, gently pulling her against him. He couldn't believe this was happening. He could feel her backing them up to his bed and broke the kiss.

"A—are you sure about his, luv? I don't want you to regret this and resent me" he said. After all, this was her first time and they were both drunk.

"I'm sure, are you?" she asked him. The look in her eyes told him she wanted this, badly. Without saying another word, he crashed his lips on to hers again, their tongues meeting once more. He laid her down on his bed, slowly crawling on top of her, kissing her neck. She closed her eyes in pleasure as she worked his way down her neck to her chest and back up to her mouth.

Buffy lifted her arms as Spike pulled her shirt over her head to reveal the lacey bra she had on underneath. His hands roamed her body, rubbing her stomach and pulling at her jeans. Buffy arched her back so that he could remove her pants. Once she was in her underwear, he removed his shirt as well, removing his black jeans right after.

"I'm gonna ask you one more time, are you su—" he began to double check, but was cut off by her lips crashing on to his yet again. She wanted this more than he knew and he wanted it to. He removed her underwear and bra, leaving her naked next to him. She became a little self-conscious at this point and crawled under the sheet on his bed.

"Hey, no, don't" he said softly, uncovering her. "You don't have to hide from me, I think you're amazing." She gave him a small smile and he took off his boxers, revealing himself to her. She had never seen the male form before. He looked incredible. He was hard by this point and, though she was very much turned on, she didn't really know what to do. He gave her another soft kiss before reaching into his drawer and pulling out a condom.

"I want you" she whispered in his ear as he rolled the condom on to his member.

"God, I want you too" he whispered back, kissing her neck and earlobe. He gently parted her legs, rubbing up them to her inner thighs. She shivered with anticipation as he positioned himself in the right place. "Relax" he told her sweetly.

Buffy took a deep breath as she felt him enter her slowly. She gasped, she didn't expect it to hurt like this.

"Are you okay, luv?" he asked, seeing the look on her face. She nodded without saying anything. "Does it hurt?"

"Just a little, don't stop" she lied. It hurt more than 'just a little', but she didn't want to stop.

"It'll get better, I promise" he whispered to her, moving in and out of her as gently and slowly as he could until she got used to it.

After a couple minutes he could feel Buffy start to relax. She had started to moan now and it got a little louder the more he pushed into her.

"How's that, pet?" he asked. He could feel her fingernails digging into his flesh.

"Harder" he was surprised to hear him say, but obeyed as he pushed into her with a little more force and speed. Her legs tightened around his waist as she continued her moaning. "Oh my god, Spike."

He was turned on by the sound of his name from her and went a little harder, still careful not to be too rough with her.

"Please don't stop, I think…think I'm gonna…" she tried to say, but the pleasure was too great. She let out a scream as he felt her tighten around him. He knew she had arrived when he felt her pulsate and quiver around his member and he wasn't far behind. He collapsed on top of her as he felt himself climax.

They laid there, him on top of her, for a minute until he felt her quit pulsing. He slid out of her, collapsing on the bed next to her, both of them panting heavily. He looked over at him and she smiled weakly at him, as if she didn't know what was supposed to happen now.

"You okay, luv?" he asked.

"Yeah" she said simply and he stretched his arm out.

"Come here." She scooted over, laying her head on his chest and snuggling into him. "Was it okay? Being your first time?"

She smiled bigger at him. He had been so sweet and caring with her. "It was amazing" she told him and he smiled as well, happy that it wasn't a disappointment for her.

"I'm glad, luv" he told her. She looked up at him.

"Was it okay for you? I know I didn't know what I was doing and I really just laid there, but—" he cut her off with a soft kiss to her lips.

"It was incredible; YOU were incredible" he told her. She smiled again, laying her head back on his chest. Before long, both of them were sound asleep.

* End of Buffy's memory *

Faith looked at her twin sister, in total shock. She couldn't believe that Buffy had been the instigator in all of this, she was sure Spike would have been.

"Holy crap" Faith said after Buffy finished her story. "And you two have just been banging ever since?"

"Pretty much."

"Are you in love with him?" Faith asked. Buffy shook her head.

"We're not in love, we're just…friends with benefits I guess" Buffy told her. She could tell Faith was having trouble getting her head around all of this. "How did you know, Fai? I mean, I was sure we were being so careful that no one knew."

Faith looked at her twin, as if she was afraid to speak.

"What?" Buffy asked.

"Okay, don't be pissed at me, I swear this was an accident" Faith told her and Buffy crossed her arms over her chest.

"What did you do?" she asked with a sigh.

"Your laptop was open, and I may have…seen your journal entry" Faith said and Buffy's eyes went wide. "I didn't mean to; it was just there."

"Oh, so you had to read the whole entry?" Buffy asked, a little angry.

"Come on, B, you know I don't do that. I couldn't help it, it just happened" Faith told her. Buffy felt anger at first, then sighed.

"Did you read any others?"

"No, of course not" Faith told her. Buffy shrugged.

"Okay, you're forgiven" she told Faith. Faith was still trying to get her head around the fact that her twin sister had been having a secret sexual relationship with one of their friends.

"I just still can't believe this, B. And no one else knows?"

"No one, so you'd better not say anything to anyone or I'll kill you" Buffy warned her and Faith nodded.

"I swear; you know you can trust me" Faith said. "This is so crazy. How am I gonna look at Spike the same way now?"

"Well you'd better figure it out until I tell him you know" Buffy told her.

"Wait, you were just plannin on keeping this up without ever telling me? I'm your twin sister and your best friend" Faith said, a little hurt.

Buffy sighed. "I'm sorry, Fai, I really am. I hated keeping a secret like this from you, but Spike and I both just agreed it'd be easier and better if no one knew."

"Could you imagine if mom ever found out?" Faith laughed.

"Yeah, I hope It'd be a funny aneurism" Buffy added with a chuckle. She couldn't even think about her mom finding out about her and Spike. As far as Joyce knew, all her daughters were still virgins. Well, at least she still had 1 out of 3. "Now that you know, just keep it cool, okay?"

"You got nothing to worry about, B, I promise" Faith assured her and Buffy sighed, still unsure about even Faith knowing her secret.


	3. Chapter 3

Buffy and Faith walked into their high school. It had been a few days since Faith found out about Buffy and Spike's secret relationship and she had kept her promise to keep it quiet, as Buffy knew she would. She loved her friends and trusted them completely, but she knew that once they knew that's all they'd want to talk about and Buffy wasn't ready for the complication and decided to keep her mouth shut.

As they walked in to the cafeteria, they found their friends sitting at a table by the vending machines and went to join them.

"Hey, it's the Summers girls" Xander said happily at the sight of the twin sisters.

"Hey, guys" Willow greeted them with a smile and a wave. Buffy and Faith sat down with them.

"Hey" Buffy said.

"How was your guys' weekend?" Faith asked.

"Uneventful, except for the parents annual nightly shouting games" Xander said. "I think the neighbors know everything that goes on in my house." Willow patted him on the arm sympathetically.

"That sucks" Faith said, Xander just nodded.

"How was your weekend?" Willow asked Buffy and Faith.

"Same, spent the weekend chillin around the house and looking for cars" Faith told her.

"It's so cool your mom said you guys can get a car, you're gonna love it" Cordelia told them with a smile.

"What did you do, Buffy?" Willow asked and Buffy looked at her.

"Uh, nothing much…" Buffy said.

"How was Spike?" the redhead asked and Buffy's eyes widened.

"What?"

"I called Spike on Saturday to see if he wanted to hang out and he said he wasn't feeling well and that you were coming over to keep him company" Willow told her with a strange look. "Did you not go over there?"

"Oh, uh…n—no, we ended up taking a raincheck on hanging out cuz he didn't feel up to it, being sick and all" Buffy lied. She could see Faith holding back a smirk and nudged her under the table with her foot.

"Aw, poor Spike" Tara chimed in.

"I'm sure he'll live" Buffy joked and got up. "Come on, Fai, we should get to first period."

"Right, see you guys at lunch" Faith said as Buffy pulled her arm.

"Bye guys" Buffy called back as she and Faith hurried away. Willow, Xander, Tara and Cordelia looked on after them oddly as if they'd gone insane.

Once Buffy and Faith were a safe distance away Buffy sighed with relief as she let go of Faith's arm.

"Calm down, B, jeez" Faith told her with a chuckle. Her sister was the worst liar she knew and even knowing she'd have to tell a lie made her uncomfortable and weird. "You're gonna give your own self away."

"I can't help it; I HATE lying" Buffy sighed.

"Well, you really suck at it" Faith told her and got a glare from the blonde. "Well, it's true."

"Yes, I'm well aware of that, thank you" Buffy said as they walked down the hall toward their classroom.

"So, what are you gonna do? Just not tell them? Ever?" Faith asked. Buffy stopped walking and turned to her, sighing again.

"I don't know."

"Well do you want to keep lying?" Faith asked.

"Of course not, but I don't want anyone to know either" Buffy said. "I don't know what to do."

"Well, let's just get through the day then" Faith said and the sisters began to walk again.

The end of the day came slowly, but surely and Faith and Buffy took the bus home. Once they arrived they went into the kitchen for an afternoon snack and then proceeded into the living room to watch some TV until their mother and sister got home.

As the girls sat on the sofa watching Jerry Springer, Buffy heard her phone beep and looked at the text message that came across her screen.

 _I want you_

Buffy smiled and Faith looked over at her and rolled her eyes.

"Time to go bang Peroxide Boy?"

"Faith!"

"What?" Faith asked innocently. "You're telling me that wasn't him texting you?"

Buffy looked back at her phone, as if she didn't remember, and looked back at Faith, but said nothing. Faith smirked at her sister and shook her head.

"Uh-huh, just what I thought."

Buffy elbowed Faith in the arm before getting up and heading for the stairs. "I'll be home in a couple hours." Without looking up, Buffy texted something back as she walked up the stairs.

Five minutes later, Buffy came back down the stairs. Her makeup was refreshed and her hair was taken out of the ponytail she had it in and was brushed out and left to lay over her shoulders. Faith heard a horn beep outside and Buffy gave her a quick wave before opening the front door.

"Tell mom I went to the library to research a history project and I'll be home a while later." Faith nodded at her and Buffy shut the door and was gone.

Buffy and Spike arrived at his apartment a few minutes later, both not really saying anything on the ride over. After he pulled into the apartment parking lot and found a spot, he shut off the engine and looked over at Buffy, who was looking out the window.

"You okay, luv?" he asked and she looked at him.

"Faith knows about us" she blurted. He looked at her, surprised and sighed.

"How the bloody hell did that happen?"

"She read my journal entry. I accidentally forgot to shut my laptop and she saw it" Buffy told him.

"You're writing about me are you?" he asked with the raise of an eyebrow and she blushed a bit.

"I write about a lot of things."

"Did she tell anyone?"

"No, and I told her if she did I'd kill her so she won't say anything" Buffy told him as they made their way out of his car and to his front door. Spike retrieved his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, letting her in before him.

"Well…alright then" he said after a couple beats of silence. He came up to where she had walked a few steps away and took her hands in his, locking their fingers together. He looked at her seductively and she smiled at him.

"Wait, that's it?" she asked and he shrugged.

"You were the one insisting on the big secret, pet. I don't really care either way" he told her, kissing her lightly on the lips. He pulled her closer to him, giving her a more passionate kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck. After going at her mouth hungrily for a couple minutes, she broke the kiss, backing up a bit so she could breathe.

"Ugh, I've been so stressed out today" she told him and he smirked seductively at her again.

"Well, I can definitely help with that, luv" he whispered to her, picking her up. She giggled as he swung her up in his arms and headed to his bedroom, shutting the door with his foot.

Buffy's eyes shot open the next morning as she felt a sudden surge of nausea tear through her. She sat up slowly, trying to keep it at bay, but it was no use. She could tell she was about to puke so she jumped out of bed, flinging open the bedroom door and running into the bathroom, barely making it. As she threw up violently into the toilet, she collapsed to her knees, her body shaking with every heave. Faith, who was startled awake by Buffy's sudden outburst, ventured into the bathroom to check on her twin. The door was still open, as Buffy didn't have time to shut it first, and Faith found the blonde on her knees, her face in the toilet bowl.

"Ugh, gross. B, you okay?"

"Yeah, wonderful" Buffy said sarcastically when she finally stopped yacking. She slowly got to her feet with Faith's help and went over to the bathroom sink. As she turned on the water, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was clammy and pale, beads of sweat on her forehead and chin. She splashed water on her face and rinsed her mouth out before turning the water back off. Taking a hand towel off the towel rack, she wiped her faced off and sighed.

"What the hell happened?" Faith asked.

"I woke up really nauseous" Buffy said simply and went back into their room, Faith following. Buffy slowly sat on her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest.

"If you have the flu stay away from me" Faith said and Buffy glared at her. "What, I don't wanna get sick."

"Oh and I did?"

"Well, of course not, but still…I'm gonna sleep on the couch" Faith said. "Sorry, B, but I can't stand getting sick."

"It's fine, go" Buffy pouted, laying her head down on her pillows and continuing to hug the pillow she was holding to her. Faith sighed, feeling guilty for the way she reacted. She went over to Buffy, feeling her forehead.

"You don't feel warm" Faith told her and covered Buffy with her comforter. "I'll let mom know you're sick."

"Thanks" Buffy said quietly, shutting her eyes. A couple minutes later Joyce came into the room and sat on the edge of Buffy's bed.

"Sweetie, Faith tells me your sick. Are you okay?" her mother asked, feeling Buffy's forehead.

"I think it's the flu or something" Buffy told her. "I threw up a little bit ago."

"Well, you don't feel warm, but let me check your temperature" Joyce said, going into the hall and returning a couple seconds later with a thermometer. She put it under Buffy's tongue and left it there until it beeped and removed it. "No fever, but I'm keeping you home from school today."

"Okay" Buffy didn't argue. She still felt sick to her stomach and didn't want to move. Joyce got up and kissed her daughter on the forehead.

"Well, just rest, sweetie. I'm gonna go downstairs and make breakfast for your sisters." Buffy cringed at the thought of food. "I'll bring you some dry toast and a glass of milk."

"Thanks, mom" Buffy smiled weakly. It was strange, but whenever Buffy was nauseous, she found drinking ice cold milk helped tremendously. Joyce nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Buffy heard her bedroom door open and opened her eyes to see Faith walk in with a plate and a glass of milk. She was fully dressed now and ready for school.

 _I must have fallen asleep_ , Buffy thought as Faith put the plate of toast and the milk on the nightstand beside Buffy's bed.

"Gotta go to school, B, but there's your toast and milk. Mom said she'd be in to check on you in a while." Buffy sat up a little so she could take a drink of her milk and then laid back down.

"See ya later" Buffy told her, shutting her eyes again, she was really tired and could barely keep her eyes open.

"Feel better, sis" Faith told her before grabbing her backpack and leaving their room, shutting the door.

Buffy sighed, shifting in bed to try to get more comfortable. She hadn't been sick since what seemed like forever ago and had no idea how she could have caught the stomach flu. No one else in the house seemed to be sick. Buffy's eyes widened and she sat up quickly as a sudden realization came to her.

"I'm late" she said to herself, going into her nightstand drawer and retrieving a small calendar. She opened it, looking at August, then at September and finally at the current month. "Oh my god, I haven't had my period in two months" she realized, starting to panic inside. As she heard footsteps coming up the stairs she quickly put the calendar back in its drawer and laid down, pretending to be asleep just as her mother knocked on the door and peeked her head in.

"Sweetie, are you awake?"

"Hmmm?" Buffy asked, opening her eyes.

"Feeling any better?" Joyce asked as she sat on the edge of Buffy's bed and took her hand.

"Not really" Buffy said. She couldn't get the look of worry off of her face no matter how hard she tried and Joyce could tell something was bothering her.

"What's wrong?"

"N—nothing" Buffy lied. "I just hate being sick." Joyce gave her a small smile and nodded.

"Well, no, I can't imagine it's very pleasant" she joked, kissing Buffy on the head and getting up. "I have to run some errands, but I'll be back in an hour or so. Are you going to be okay by yourself?" This time it was Buffy who smiled.

"Mom, I'm sixteen, I think I can survive an hour alone in the house." Joyce nodded again and left the room. Buffy sighed with relief and took the calendar back out of the drawer to examine the dates further. Maybe she had just forgotten to write it down last month…and the month before. _You're not that dense, Buffy. I think you'd remember having your period if you had_ , Buffy thought. Her heart sank at the mere thought that she could possibly be…she didn't even want to say it, didn't want to think it. She had to know for sure though, otherwise she'd go crazy wondering. She slowly got out of bed and got dressed and put her shoes on. She wanted to hurry to the drug store down the street before her mother go home from the errands she was running. She gathered her wallet and keys and left the house.

Twenty minutes later, Buffy arrived home, relieved she didn't see her mother's car in the driveway; that meant she wasn't home yet. Buffy hurried into the house and upstairs, clutching the brown paper bag in her hand. Once she was in the bathroom and sure the door was locked, she opened the bag and slowly pulled out the box inside.

'First Response' the box read. With her hands shaking, she opened the small rectangular box and pulled out the stick inside. She looked at it with awe. She had never seen one of these in person and didn't really have a clear idea on how to use it. She took out the directions and read them closely, careful that she did everything right.

Buffy sighed as she sat down on the toilet, the sweatpants she was wearing around her ankles. As she prepared her body for urination, she slowly put her hand between her legs, gripping the test tightly so she didn't drop it into the toilet water. After peeing on the designated spot at the end she removed it from between her legs, put the cap back on it and laid it on the counter, wiping and standing up, pulling her pants back up as well. She felt sick to her stomach as she read the directions further, seeing how much time she had to wait. The box indicated that it took 2 minutes to register so Buffy threw the box away and sat on the toilet seat, waiting not so patiently for the results. After what seemed like a lifetime, Buffy got up slowly, going over to where she had laid the test down and looked at it. She had will her eyes to work as she picked up the test. Her heart dropped and her stomach turned as she saw the plus sign, clear as day, on the little window on the stick.

"Holy shit" were the only words she could muster as tears quickly began to fill her eyes and trickle down her now flushed cheeks.


	4. Chapter 4

Buffy looked down at the pregnancy test in her hands with shock. She had taken the test to quell her fears, but now… What the hell was she going to do? What was she going to tell Spike? What was she going to tell her mother? Faith? Her friends? These questions screamed in Buffy's mind as tears of fear filled her eyes. She looked up at the mirror in front of her and stared at her reflection. Her face was pale now, tense. Suddenly she heard a knock at the door and jumped from the sudden shake out of her thoughts.

"B, you gonna be in there forever or what?" she heard Faith ask from the other side of the door and quickly wrapped the test in toilet paper, placing it in her robe pocket. She looked herself in the mirror once more, quickly looking herself over, trying to remove the look of pure shock from her face. Finally, after a minute or so, she opened the bathroom door.

"Sorry" she told her sister, walking past her and going back into their bedroom. Faith followed.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, why?" Buffy asked, not looking at Faith, just rummaging through her purse, pretending to look for something.

"You just seem...weird" Faith told her. Buffy looked over at her and sighed.

"I'm fine, Fai, really."

"Okay, if you say so" Faith gave up, going back I into the bathroom and shutting the door. Buffy sighed with relief, sitting on her bed and pulling the pregnancy test back out of her pocket. She stared at it, still not really believing she was seeing the plus sign that was screaming at her. She wrapped it up once more, walking over to her dresser and opening up her lock box. She placed the test under some papers she had in the lock box and locked it back up, placing the key back in her wallet. She had no idea what she was going to do or who she was going to tell first, if she was going to tell anyone at all. After a few minutes, she heard the bathroom door reopen and Faith walked back into their bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Buffy was changing into her pajamas when Faith walked back into the room.

"You going to bed already?" Faith asked, looking at the alarm clock on her nightstand. It was only barely 8 o'clock and Buffy was usually up pretty late.

"I'm tired" Buffy said simply, crawling into bed and covering herself with her comforter. As she snuggled into her pillows, faced away from her sister, Faith looked on at her strangely.

"What's up with you?" Faith asked, sitting on her own bed. Buffy kept her back turned to Faith. She was trying her best to keep cool, to not let Faith know she was hiding something, but she could tell Faith was suspicious and knew she couldn't lie. She thought carefully about how to respond.

"I just don't feel well, okay?" Buffy told her. It wasn't exactly a lie; Buffy was feeling sick at this point.

"Okay" Faith gave up. She could tell her twin was hiding something, but decided not to push, at least not tonight. Faith stood back up and went over to the door. "I'm not really tired so I'm gonna go downstairs and watch some TV with mom and Dawnie."

"Kay" Buffy said, continuing to face in the opposite direction. Faith sighed.

"Okay, well, if you wanna talk…"

"Thanks" Buffy said. "Night."

"Goodnight, B. I'll be up in a while" Faith told her, turning off the light and leaving the room

Buffy lay there in the dark, trying not to cry and trying not to freak out. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. She was pregnant, with Spike's baby, and had no idea what she was going to do. How was Spike going to react? Buffy pulled her comforter up to her chin as she tried to hold back the tears. She was terrified, had no one to talk to, and had no idea how to handle this.

It wasn't until about an hour later that Buffy finally fell asleep. She didn't hear when Faith came in to go to bed herself. When she woke, Faith wasn't in bed and the sun was shining through the bedroom windows. Buffy yawned and stretched, sitting up. For a brief second, she forgot about her conditioned, but was quickly reminded when she felt a sudden jolt of nausea and covered her mouth. She got up, quickly running into the bathroom. Just barely making it, Buffy threw up in the toilet, coughing and heaving as she vomited violently. When she was done, she slowly got up from her knees, flushed the toilet and went over to the sink, turning on the water and throwing some on her face and into her mouth, rinsing it out. She looked herself in the mirror. Her face was pale and clammy, sweat beading off her forehead. She sighed as she turned the water off and opened the bathroom door to be met by her mother who was coming up to use the bathroom.

"Morning, sweetie" Joyce greeted her daughter. Buffy gave her a weak smile.

"Morning."

"Are you feeling okay, honey? You look sick" Joyce said, feeling Buffy's forehead. Buffy moved past her mother a little.

"I'm fine, mom" Buffy lied. She wasn't fine, either mentally or physically. Joyce looked skeptical, but decided not to push it.

"Okay, if you say so" she told the sixteen-year-old. Once Joyce shut the bathroom door, Buffy sighed with relief and went downstairs. She found both of her sisters sitting at the kitchen island eating breakfast.

"Hey, Buffy, mom made breakfast" Dawn told her through a mouthful of eggs. Buffy's stomach turned at the smell of the eggs, bacon and toast on the Island and she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Ugh, no food, please." Faith looked at her with confusion. It was very rare that her twin turned down food, especially breakfast.

"You okay, B?"

"Just not feeling well this morning" Buffy told her, going to the fridge and retrieving a bottle of water. She removed the cap and took a long drink, gulping it down.

"Thirsty much?" Dawn asked sarcastically with a chuckle. Buffy put the cap back on the water bottle and proceeded back to the stairs to return to her and Faith's room. She wanted to be alone, needed to be in order to form a clear thought. She never, in a million years, would have expected this, even if she was in a sexual relationship. Her and Spike were always so careful. They always used condoms and Buffy had been on the pill since she was fourteen and started having trouble with horrible cramps.

As Buffy headed upstairs Faith got up to follow her.

"Where are you going?" Dawn asked as Faith put her now empty plate in the sink and headed out of the kitchen.

"To check on B" Faith told her without turning back and ran up the stairs. Dawn sighed and continued to eat, no one ever involved her in or told her anything.

Faith opened her and Buffy's bedroom door and found her sister at her desk on her laptop. When she heard Faith enter the room, Buffy quickly shut her laptop and turned around.

"What's up with you?" Faith asked, shutting the door behind her. Buffy had no idea what to say. Faith would see right through any lie she threw at her and there was no way she could tell her the truth. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"I don't feel well." It wasn't a lie, Buffy felt awful. Her stomach still felt queasy and her head ached terribly. Faith looked at her skeptically and Buffy could feel her heart quicken.

"Okay" Faith finally said, not completely convinced. "You sure nothing's going on?" Buffy just shook her head and turned her attention back to her laptop without opening it. "Well…you wanna take mom to look at a couple of those cars we found?"

"Uh, sure…go ask her and I'll be down in a minute" Buffy said, looking back at her sister. Faith nodded and left the room, shutting the door. Buffy sighed with temporary relief. Though the subject was momentarily dropped, she knew it wasn't over. After all, she was pregnant and would eventually have to tell everyone. After making sure her stomach was at bay for the moment and popping a mint in her mouth, she went back downstairs to join everyone else.

Joyce agreed to take her twin daughters to look at a couple cars Faith had found on Craigslist. After having no luck with the first two, they arrived at a house on the other side of town to look at the third. As they parked on the street by the house, they saw a black PT Cruiser sitting in the driveway with a sign on the windshield that had $12,500 OBO on it.

"There it is" Faith pointed as Joyce and her three daughters exited her car.

"I don't see why you had to drag me along. I'm not getting the stupid car" Dawn complained and Faith and Buffy rolled their eyes.

"Because I'm not leaving you in the house by yourself" Joyce told her youngest. Dawn crossed her arms over her chest as Faith and Buffy, ignoring Dawn's immaturity, went to inspect the car.

"I'm almost thirteen, mom" Dawn complained. Buffy and Faith weren't paying attention by this point and were busy walking around the car, checking it out. A couple seconds later, an older woman came out of the house and walked up to them.

"Hello" she greeted them with a smile. Joyce walked over to her twin daughters and the woman.

"Hi, I'm Joyce. We spoke on the phone" Joyce said, shaking the woman's hand.

The woman nodded. "Yes, nice to meet you."

"Likewise" Joyce told her. "These are my girls. My twins, Buffy and Faith and my baby, Dawn."

"I'm not a baby" Dawn said with annoyance in her voice and put on her headphones, getting back into the backseat of Joyce's car. The woman smiled at that.

"Nice to meet you all, I'm Carolyn" Carolyn introduced herself and Buffy and Faith smiled politely. "So, this is it." She gestured to the car and Faith and Buffy turned their attention back to the car.

"How many miles?" Joyce asked, inspecting the car as well. Carolyn opened the driver's side door so they could get a better look.

"There's just under 100,000 miles on it" Carolyn told them.

"And it's a 2005, correct?" Joyce asked.

"That's correct" Carolyn said. "Would you like to test drive it?"

"Could we?" Buffy asked and Carolyn nodded.

"Of course, let me go get the keys and my jacket and we'll take it around the block." Carolyn went back into her house and Faith and Buffy turned to Joyce.

"We want this car, mom" Faith told her.

"Yeah, it's perfect for us" Buffy added. Joyce looked at the car again and then back at her daughters. Seeing the hopeful and excited looks on their faces, she smiled.

"As long as it runs well and we can't see any obvious problems I think we can work something out" Joyce told them. Faith made a 'yes' gesture with her arm and Buffy clapped, jumping up and down. A couple seconds later, Carolyn came back out of the house with the keys in her hand and walked up to Joyce and her daughters.

"Who gets the honor?" she asked, holding up the keys.

"Me!" Buffy said first and Carolyn handed her the keys. Buffy got into the driver's side, Carolyn in the passenger side and Faith in the back. "We'll be right back, ma."

"Okay, be safe and put your seatbelts on" Joyce told the girls and they did as she told them. Buffy started the engine and backed out of the driveway, careful not to hit the cars that were parked on the street nearby.

Ten minutes later, the black car pulled back into the driveway and Buffy turned off the engine and she, Faith and Carolyn got out. Buffy and Faith had smiles on their faces.

"It drives like a dream" Buffy smiled.

"Yeah, it's perfect" Faith added. Joyce examined the car again, not completely sure.

"Well…" she thought. Faith and Buffy looked at her with pleading eyes. "Will you take a check?" The girls looked at Carolyn hopefully.

"I'm not really comfortable taking a check, could you get a money order?" she asked Joyce.

"Sure, I can run to the store down the street and get one" Joyce said. "Stay here, girls. I'll take Dawnie with me."

"Okay, hurry please" Buffy said excitedly and Joyce smiled, shaking her head at her daughter's impatient behavior.

"I'll be right back" she told them and got into the car.

Later that night, Faith wanted to go out to celebrate their new wheels, but Buffy, still holding on to her shocking secret, wasn't too fond of the idea. As Faith got ready, Buffy just sat on her bed, watching her twin.

"B, come on, get ready."

"I told you I'm not going" Buffy protested, hugging a pillow to her chest.

"What's wrong? Since when do you not wanna go to The Bronze?" Faith asked, feeling her sister's forehead. Buffy pushed her hand away.

"Faith, I'm fine, I just don't feel like going out tonight." Faith looked at her, knowing there was something she wasn't telling her. Putting her hands on her hips, she gave her the 'I know you're up to something and you better tell me what it is' look. Buffy tried to avoid her gaze, but it was no use. _Damn, how the hell does she do that?_ Buffy thought and sighed. Faith, raised an eyebrow at her sister, crossing her arms over her chest and waiting for an explanation from the blonde. Buffy's eyes filled with tears, the immense fear of what was to come returning.

"B, what is it?" Faith asked, sitting down next to Buffy on her bed.

"Fai, I really screwed up" Buffy said quietly through tears. "I don't know what to do."

"What are you talking about?" Faith asked. Buffy took a deep breath and then opened up the drawer on her nightstand, retrieving the pregnancy test she took earlier and handed it to her sister.


	5. Chapter 5

Faith looked at the pregnancy stick her sister just handed her in silence. She knew what it meant, but her mind wouldn't let her process it. As she looked from the test to Buffy, back and forth a couple times, Buffy started back at her, waiting for her to say something. After a few minutes of silence, Buffy decided to be the one to speak.

"Are you gonna say something?" she asked the brunette and Faith continued to stare at the test, still not saying a word. "Faith?"

"Uh…" Faith said, trying to wrap her mind around the news her sister just threw at her. "I... I don't…what the hell?"

"Yeah, I know" Buffy stated quietly. Faith finally handed her back the pregnancy test and Buffy put it back in the drawer.

"How the hell did this happen, B?" Buffy looked at her, obviously she knew how it happened. Faith shook her head, as if trying to shake her thoughts free. "Yeah, I know _how_ it happened, I just don't get how you  let this happen."

"I didn't plan this" Buffy said defensively.

"Well I would hope not" Faith told her, getting up and walking over to her own bed and sitting down. "What are you gonna do? Have you told Spike? Spike's the father, right?"

"Of course he is, what do you think I do, screw every guy I meet?" Buffy asked sarcastically.

"Of course not, B, I'm just…shocked" Faith told her.

"Yeah, me too. And no, I haven't told Spike, I don't know how."

"How about, 'hey, Spike, you knocked me up. Congratulations!'' Faith joked and got a glare from her sister. "Come on, I'm just trying to lighten the mood."

"Well, the mood's not light, it's very, very dark" Buffy said and Faith got up and joined her back on her bed.

"Are you keeping it?"

"Huh?"

"The baby? Are you keeping the baby?" Faith repeated her question and Buffy sighed.

"Yeah" Faith nodded. "I couldn't imagine having an abortion or giving my baby up for adoption so…"

"How far along are you?" Faith asked her.

"Not sure, I just took the test. I haven't even gone to the dr. yet."

"Well, you need to make an appointment ASAP so you can make sure everything's okay" Faith told her.

"Yeah, I know" Buffy said with a sigh. She was terrified thinking about having to tell Spike and her mother. What would they say? How would they react? She honestly didn't know who she was more nervous to tell. She could feel tears forming in her eyes and tried to keep them at bay, but it was no use. As she tried to blink them away, they began to trickle down her cheeks. Faith put her arm around her sister and Buffy laid her head on Faith's shoulder as the tears continued to fall.

"It's gonna be okay, Buff" Faith told her.

"How?"

"I don't know, but it will be – eventually… You just have to tell mom and Spike."

"I knew you were gonna say that" Buffy joked as she sat back up. Faith gave her a reassuring smile.

Buffy looked herself over in the full-length mirror in her and Faith's room. It had been a couple days since she told Faith about her pregnancy and she still hadn't gathered the nerve to tell Spike or her mother. She looked herself over carefully. In just a few short months she would start to show and then it wouldn't be long until everyone knew after that. She hated that Spike wasn't the first one she told about all of this, but, in all honestly, she had no idea how he was going to take it and, having to tell someone, she figured Faith would be not only the easiest to tell, but she knew she'd be supportive. As her hands went over her still flat stomach, she heard the door open and turned around to see Faith.

"Hey, sis" Faith greeted her. She had just come back from a study group with Willow and a couple other friends.

"Hey."

"Will was asking about you" Faith told her as she sat on her bed. Buffy sat on her own bed and sighed.

"What'd she say?"

"She just wanted to know why you haven't been around in the past few days." Faith told her.

"What'd you tell her?"

"I just told her you've been busy screwin Spike" Faith said, smirking at her sister's reaction. "I'm kidding, jeez." Buffy sighed with relief.

"Don't do that!"

"I can't help it, you're too easy." Faith smiled. "But in all seriousness, the guys are gonna freak when they find out you're pregnant; they don't even know about Spike. You havin bouncy time with him I mean."

"Yeah, I know" Buffy said and then buried her head in her hands. "Ugh, this is all so complicated."

"Glad it isn't me" Faith joked. Buffy looked up, giving her a look of death. "I'm sorry, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know, Fai" Buffy said.

Later that day, Buffy got a text from Spike, asking her to come over. She decided that this would be as good of a time as any to tell him her secret. Once she clued him in she wouldn't have to go through this alone, or at least she hoped.

Buffy arrived at Spike's around 6:30pm and knocked on the door of his apartment. A few seconds later he answered, smirking at her.

"Hey, sexy."

"Hey" she said quietly as he took her hand and pulled her into the apartment, shutting the door and kissing her hard on the mouth. After a few seconds, Buffy pulled away.

"Somethin' wrong, luv?"

"Umm…we have to talk" Buffy said, grabbing a hold of his hand and leading him to the couch.

"Nothing good ever starts with that phrase" he told her. She just looked at him, giving him a weak smile. "What's wrong, pet?"

Buffy took a deep breath. She could feel her heart racing and her body start to tremble; she so did not want to have this conversation. After a few beats of silence, he looked at her with confusion.

"Okay, you're freakin me out, Goldilocks."

"Look, I don't know how to say this, to soften the blow, so I guess I'm just gonna come right out and—"

"Buffy." She looked him in the eyes again and took another breath. It was now or never. Even though never sounded like a better plan, she spoke anyway.

"Spike…" She paused again.

"What? What? What?" he asked, growing very impatient.

"I'm pregnant" she blurted. He looked at her with a blank expression at first, as if he didn't hear what she had just said. His expression quickly changed to shock though, but he remained quiet. He looked away from her, staring down at the ground, as if he was in deep thought. Buffy looked at him for a few moments. "Are you okay? Spike?"

"Huh? Uh…" he said, trying to gather his thoughts. "A—are you sure about this?" She nodded, going into her purse and pulling out the pregnancy test she had taken and handed it to him. He just stared at it for what seemed like forever and then looked back at her. "I, uh…I—I don't, I don't know what to say."

Buffy nodded again, staying quiet to try to let him wrap his head around what she had just told him. After a couple minutes of silence, he stood up and walked a few steps forward and then turned to face her. Buffy sat on the couch, starting at him. After a few seconds he spoke again.

"I... look, I don't know if I can deal with this right now." He handed her back the pregnancy test and Buffy looked at him with shock and hurt in her eyes.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I just need some time okay…alone."

"Are you saying you want me to leave?" she asked, astonished. Spike just nodded. Tears starting to fill her eyes, she stood up, looked at him for a brief moment and then stormed out of his apartment.

Buffy arrived home shortly after leaving Spike's apartment and walked in through the front door, still hurt about how Spike reacted. She hung up her jacket and walked into the living room where Faith and Dawn were sitting and watching TV.

"Hey, Buffy" Dawn smiled at her big sister. Buffy gave her a weak smile in return.

"Hey, Dawnie." Faith saw the look on Buffy's face and knew she needed to talk, knowing where she had just come from.

"Uh, B, let's go upstairs and talk."

"Can I come?" Dawn asked.

"No, it's private, kid" Faith told her.

Dawn crossed her arms over her chest and pouted at her twin teenage sisters. "Why do you guys always leave me out of everything?"

"Because, one; you're too young, and two: you can't keep a secret" Faith told her as she grabbed Buffy's hand and lead her upstairs. Dawn just slumped back on the couch and continued to pout. As Faith and Buffy headed upstairs, Joyce came through the front door and Dawn ran over to her.

"Mommy, Buffy and Faith have a secret and they won't tell me" she whined at her mother. Buffy and Faith rolled their eyes, it was so typical of their little sister to be a tattle tale.

"A secret, huh?" Joyce humored her youngest. "Well, well."

"And they won't let me in on it" Dawn reminded her, still whining.

"Well, sweetie, your sisters are older and they talk about different things than you do. Plus, everyone is entitled to secrets. I'm sure you have secrets that you don't tell your sisters."

"And with that, goodbye" Buffy said, following Faith up to their room.

Once Buffy and Faith were in their room, they shut the door, but could still hear Dawn protesting to their mother about why she should be able to know their secret.

"So, what happened? What did Spike say?"

Buffy scoffed, sitting down on her bed and burying her head in her hands. "He took it horribly, basically kicked me out of his apartment." Faith looked at her, shocked and a little angered.

"Are you fuckin kidding me? He kicked you out?"

"Well, not literally, but technically" Buffy told her.

"What exactly did he say?"

"He got all quiet for a while and then told me he didn't know if he could handle it and said he needed time to think."

"Well, maybe he's just scared shitless like I figured he'd be" Faith offered. Buffy scoffed again, looking up at Faith.

"And what, he doesn't think I am? Like I'm just like 'la di da, no big fuckin deal'?" Faith shrugged.

"Give him the benefit of the doubt, B, I'm sure he'll come around."

"Well, I hope he does it quick because I can't do this alone" Buffy told her, getting teary-eyed. Faith joined her on her bed, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Buff, whether or not Spike comes to his senses, you're never gonna be alone, not ever. You have me and you have mom, and you even have the little squirt. We're all here for you" she assured her.

"Mom doesn't even know yet, Fai. How am I gonna tell her?"

"If you want I'll be there with you" Faith said, putting her arm around Buffy. Buffy laid her head on her twin's shoulder and Faith kissed her on the head.

Buffy decided she wanted to lay down, to clear her head and rest for a while. As she laid, back turned to the door, she heard someone enter her room, but didn't turn to face whoever it was, which she assumed was her sister. She heard someone breathing by her bed, but stayed still, waiting for whoever it was to say something. Finally, after a couple minutes, she turned to see who was standing there and found Spike looking at her.

"I thought you were Faith" she said quietly.

"I thought you were sleepin" Spike told her. "Can we talk?

"I think you already made yourself clear" Buffy said, turning away from him again.

"Come on, luv, look, I was just shocked, okay. And scared out of my bleeding bird." Buffy said nothing. Spike sighed, going over and crawling into bed with her, wrapping his arm around her waist and snuggling into her. Buffy remained tense. "I'm sorry, baby" he said quietly. "I admit, I handled it badly, and I'm ashamed of that, but I'm here for you…if you want me, we're in this together. He could feel her relax into him and kissed her cheek. Suddenly he felt her body shaking a bit as she began to cry. "Hey, shhh, it's gonna be okay."

Buffy turned to face him, both of them still laying in her bed. "I'm so scared, Spike, terrified." He kissed her forehead, pulling her over to him. She laid her head on his chest and he began to stroke her hair.

"Everything's gonna be okay, luv, I promise. We'll get through this. Have you decided what you're gonna do?

"Do?" Buffy asked, not understanding at first.

"Do you wanna keep it? I mean, do you want us to keep it?" Spike asked her.

"Yeah, I want us to keep the baby… is that okay?" she asked him and he gave her a smile.

"Of course it is, luv" he told her and she smiled back at him, snuggling into him more.

"Have you told your mum?" Spike asked her and Buffy could feel that horrible feeling of dread hit her again.

"No" she said plainly.

"Well, we should probably do that, don't you think?" he asked her, she sat up slightly so she could look at him.

"I know" she told him quietly. "I just have no idea how."

"Pretty straight forward, luv. I'll be there with you if you want."

Buffy smiled at that. She was so happy that Spike was supporting her and that he promised to be there for and with her.

"Okay… we'll tell her tonight" Buffy sighed. This was definitely not a conversation she wanted to have, but she knew she had to do it. Spike nodded, giving her a light kiss on the lips.

"I can't believe we're having a baby" he said after she laid her head back down on him.

"Trust me" she said. "Me either."


	6. Chapter 6

Spike could feel Buffy's hand tremble in his and gave it a comforting squeeze as they walked downstairs to where her mother and sisters were sitting and talking in the kitchen. Buffy knew she had to tell her mom, but that didn't mean she wanted to.

"I can't do this" Buffy whispered to Spike, trying to flee back up to the refuge of her bedroom. Spike grabbed her hand, pulling her back over to him.

"We have to, luv" he told her softly. "It'll be better once you do it, you'll see." Buffy looked at him and sighed. He was right, she knew that. The quicker she got this over with the quicker the weight would be off her shoulders and she could focus on making a doctor's appointment and planning her new life as a mother.

"Okay" she finally agreed and he led her into the kitchen, still holding onto her hand. Buffy found Joyce and her sisters sitting around the island, eating lunch and having a conversation. When they saw the two blondes, they stopped talking.

"Hi, sweetheart, are you feeling better?" Joyce asked. Buffy looked at her confused.

"Better?"

"Yeah, B. Remember your headache? I told mom you weren't feeling well and that's why you were lying down" Faith clarified.

"Oh, right. Uh, yeah, better" Buffy told her mother and Joyce nodded.

"Well, good. Do you two want some lunch? I could make you a sandwich" Joyce asked.

"I could use a sandwich" Spike told her. She nodded and began to get up to make it for him.

"Um, actually" Buffy interjected. "Spike and I have to talk to you, mom." Faith looked at them, she knew exactly what they had to tell her mother and could feel butterflies for them.

"Dawnie, let's go for a walk" Faith said, getting up.

"I don't want to" Dawn told her.

"Yes you do" Faith said, pulling Dawn out of the kitchen. Joyce looked on after them with strangely and with a little confusion. She had no idea what was going on, but could feel something was wrong, or at least serious.

"What's going on, Buffy?" Joyce asked and Buffy squeezed Spike's hand. Spike rubbed her hand with his thumb, leading her over to the island so they could sit down.

"I—I have to…" Buffy began, but stopped, not sure how to say what she had to say.

"What is it, sweetheart? You're scaring me" Joyce told her and Buffy looked at Spike, who nodded for her to continue. She took another deep breath before continuing.

"Mom…Spike and I…are pregnant." She finally managed the words and Joyce's concerned expression quickly changed to that of total shock.

"Excuse me?" she said, as if she hadn't heard what her daughter had just said. "You and Spike? But you two aren't…I mean when did you…" she couldn't seem to get the words out, but Buffy knew what she was trying to say.

"It's a long story, mom" Buffy told her.

"Then give me the short version" Joyce demanded. Buffy looked at Spike again and they both sighed.

Ten minutes later, Buffy had told Joyce about how her and Spike's sexual relationship began. It was more than a little awkward for her to tell her mother about her sex life, but she felt she owed Joyce at least that much. Here Joyce was, finding out her daughter was pregnant with someone's baby that she didn't even know her daughter was involved with.

"So, that's about it" Buffy said, finishing her story. Spike had remained silent the whole time, merely there for support of the mother of his child.

"I just can't believe this, honey" Joyce said, tears now in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, mom, for disappointing you…I hope you don't hate me" Buffy said quietly. Spike put a comforting hand on her back, rubbing it softly.

"Oh, baby" Joyce said. "I could NEVER hate you, not ever. I could never hate any of my beautiful daughters. I just… I never wanted this, for any of you. You just have no idea how hard raising a baby is at such a young age."

"I know I don't" Buffy admitted, tears forming in her own eyes.

Joyce looked at Spike. "I hope you plan on being here for my daughter and future grandchild."

"Of course" Spike told her. "I'm not going anywhere." Buffy smiled at that.

"I know this is crazy, mom, and beyond huge…but, we can do this. I promise I'll be a good mommy." Joyce smiled at her daughter through tears.

"Oh, I have no worries about that, sweet girl" she told her, embracing her daughter in a long hug. Buffy sunk into her mother, beginning to cry. She hugged her mother tightly, breathing in her comforting sent, like she did when she was a little girl. After a few moments, Joyce pulled away to look Buffy in the eyes. "I'm here for you, honey, always. Anything you need you just let me know, okay?"

"Thank you so much. You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that" Buffy told her and Joyce smiled, pulling her into another hug, both mother and daughter still crying. Spike just sat there, a little awkwardly, watching them.

Just as Buffy and Joyce pulled away again, Faith and Dawn reentered the house and came into the kitchen.

"It safe yet?" Faith asked, making sure the conversation was over so they didn't interrupt.

"It's safe" Buffy told her and Faith nodded, sitting down at the island next to Spike. Dawn stood near Joyce and Buffy, a confused look on her face.

"What's going on?" she asked. Joyce looked at Buffy, looking for permission to tell Dawn what they had talk about. Buffy just shrugged, implying she didn't care either way.

"Well, sweetie…" Joyce hesitated, trying to find the perfect words. To her, Dawn was still a little girl with delicate ears and she didn't know how to put the news she was trying to tell.

"B's knocked up" Faith intervened and got an un-approving look from Joyce.

"Faith Olivia Summers" Joyce scolded.

"What?" Faith asked defensively. "She's not a kid, mom, she knows what it means."

"Buffy, you're pregnant?" Dawn asked and Buffy nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yeah, Dawnie."

"Who's the father?" Dawn asked.

"That'd be me, nibblet" Spike finally chimed in with a raise of his hand. Dawn looked shocked.

"I didn't even know you guys were dating!" Dawn exclaimed, seemingly excited now. She had always loved Spike and Spike seemed to have a soft spot for the youngest Summers.

"We're…not" Buffy said. "We're just having a baby." Spike looked at her, a little hurt, though no one seemed to notice. Truthfully now that Buffy was pregnant with his child, he had hoped that they could start something more serious, but the answer Buffy gave Dawn told him she didn't want a relationship—still.

"Wait a second" Joyce spoke up, a realization hitting her. "Faith, you knew about this?"

"Uh…yeah" Faith said, fearing a stern lecture was coming from her mother.

"How long have you known?" Joyce asked.

"I told her right after I took the pregnancy test" Buffy offered. "I needed to confide in someone and, Fai's my best friend…so of course I told her." Joyce shook her head, rubbing her forehead with her fingers as if she was getting a headache.

"I…I think I need to go lie down for a little while and think about all of this" Joyce told her daughters and Spike.

"You haven't changed your mind have you? About supporting me? I—I mean us?"

"Of course not, sweetheart, I just…this is a little much for your old mother to take in at once and I have a headache. I'll see you girls in a little while, okay?"

"Okay" Buffy said. Joyce kissed her on the forehead and left the kitchen, heading upstairs.

The next day, Spike asked Buffy to come over to his apartment so they could talk in private about their plans and their upcoming child. After eating breakfast and getting dressed, her mother dropped her off at Spike's before taking Dawn to dance class. Buffy walked into his building and took the elevator up to the third floor where Spike's apartment was. After getting off the elevator, she found apartment 333 and knocked on his door. A few seconds later, Spike answered, greeting her with a smile.

"Hey, luv" he said. She smiled back at him.

"Hi." He gestured for her to come in and she did, sitting on the couch and hugging a pillow to her chest.

"So…" he said, sitting next to her. "I just thought we should talk, you know, about what our plans are."

"Our plan is to have the baby and raise him or her together…right?" she asked, feeling a little unsure.

"Yeah, of course, but there's more to it than that I imagine, pet" he told her. "Have you made a Dr. appointment?"

"Yeah, it's for next Monday" she told him and he nodded.

"Okay. Do you…can I come with you?" he asked her and she smiled at him.

"I would love that" she said.

"Good, okay" he said, sitting back on the couch. She sat back as well, pulling her feet up to make herself more comfortable. He sat there for a few moments in thought. After a couple minutes of silence, she looked at him.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Everything I guess" he said with a sigh. "There's so much to do and I have no idea where to start." She grabbed his hand, squeezing it softly.

"I don't know what I'm doing either, you know. We'll figure it out together." He rubbed her hand with his thumb. He wanted so badly to tell her he wanted more than just to co-parent with her, he wanted a relationship with her. However, after what she told Dawn about them just raising the baby together, he felt like she would only turn him down and then there would be awkwardness between them and that's the last thing he wanted.

"Do you want a boy or a girl?" he asked her. She thought for a moment and then got a small smile on her face.

"Obviously I'll love the baby no matter what the gender is, but…I've always wanted a daughter" she told him. He returned her smile.

"Me too."

"Really?" Spike shook his head. "Thought of any names yet?"

"It's a little too early for that" she smiled, he shrugged.

"Why? Who says?"

"I don't know…I haven't even been to my first Dr. appointment" she told him.

"I just thought it'd be fun to think about it that's all" Spike said simply.

"Okay" she said. "I haven't really thought about it yet, have you?"

"No" he admitted. "But we could come up with some together. What names do you like for a girl?"

"I don't know…" she thought. Most little girls thought about having kids and thought about what their names would be, Buffy never did this so now that she was actually having a baby, she had no idea what she wanted the name to be.

"I like Gunner or Rocky or a boy" he said. She thought about the names for a second and then smiled.

"I like those. We just have to make sure the name—whatever it is—goes with Pratt." His eyes lit up at that.

"You wanna give the baby my last name?"

"Of course" Buffy said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. We're not together, I just assumed you'd give the baby your last name." Buffy shook her head and he lifted her hand to his lips, kissing it lightly.

"That means everything to me, luv." He pulled her over to him so he could hold her and she laid her head on his chest, snuggling into him.

"Thank you" she said quietly. He looked down at her, surprised.

"For what, luv? Getting you pregnant?" he said half-jokingly.

"For not running away, for supporting my decision to keep our baby, and for wanting to be involved. I don't think I could do this alone" she told him. He kissed her forehead.

"I would never abandon you or our baby" he assured her.

"So, what about for a girl?" she asked him.

"Huh?"

"What names do you like for a girl?"

"That I don't know. Not that good with girl names, pet" he told her and could feel her shrug against him.

"How about you pick the name if it's a boy and I'll pick it if it's a girl. Whoever gets to pick the first name, the other one gets to pick the middle name" she suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, Goldilocks."

 **A/N: I hope everyone is liking this story so far. If you're waiting for updates on any of the other stories, sorry I haven't gotten to them yet, I've been kinda focused on this one. I promise I'll get some chapters up for a few of the other ones soon. I have schoolwork in between writing these fics so I have to balance my time, lol. Please R/R! I love to hear from you guys!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: This chapter is a couple months later. I didn't wanna cover every month of her pregnancy and really didn't feel like writing about the first Dr. appt cuz I felt like that's been done a lot (even though so has the whole pregnant thing, but whatever, lol). I hope everyone likes this chapter and please review and lemme know what y'all think!**

Two months had passed since Buffy's first Dr. appointment and, besides some morning sickness, she was feeling pretty good. The doctor told her that she was eight weeks along so, two months having passed, she was now almost 17weeks and was beginning to show. She still hadn't told her friends and was feeling really guilty about it, especially with Willow. Willow was her best friend besides Faith and she hated lying to her so when she called Buffy one Saturday morning and asked if she wanted to hang out with her and the rest of the gang, Buffy decided to take that opportunity to let everyone in on her secret.

Buffy looked in the mirror before getting dressed Saturday morning. Her normally tiny frame was beginning to get a small baby bump, but, since she was usually so little, it was quite noticeable with the right outfit. Until then, Buffy had worn looser-fitting clothes to hide her belly, but, since she was planning on telling her friends today, she decided not to hide it anymore.

"Hey, B, almost ready?" Faith asked, coming into their room as Buffy was putting on the top she intended to wear that day.

"Yeah." Buffy looked in the mirror once the top was on, it looked really cute with her small protruding abdomen.

"So you're finally gonna tell the guys, huh?" Faith asked, sitting on her bed while Buffy put on her jeans, socks and tennis shoes.

"Yeah, it's time. I mean, I'm four months pregnant and…" she trailed off for a moment, looking down at the small baby bump. "It's gettin more and more obvious."

"How do you think they're gonna react? They don't even know you and Spike were sleeping together. I think this is gonna be a big shock to them" Faith told her and Buffy shrugged.

"They can't take it any worse than Spike and mom" Buffy told her and Faith nodded in agreement. Buffy stood up once she had her shoes on and grabbed her cellphone and purse.

"Okay, let's motor" Faith told her and they both went downstairs. "We're outta here, ma" she called to her mother who was in the kitchen with Dawn. Joyce came into the living room with Dawn following.

"Okay, you going to talk to your friends?" Joyce asked.

"Yep" Buffy told her, putting on her jacket and grabbing the car keys off the key rack.

"Good luck" Dawn told her and she smiled at her baby sister.

"Thanks." With that, Buffy and Faith left the house and headed over to Cordelia's house. Usually, when they all met up at someone's house it was the Summers' house, but, since Cordy's parents were out of town, they decided to hang out by the pool. It was October and the weather was getting chilly so they weren't swimming, they just wanted to hang out on the huge deck Cordelia had in the backyard.

It only took ten minutes to get to Cordy's and they parked the car and walked up the steps to the huge front porch and rang the doorbell. A few moments later, Cordelia answered the door, greeting them with a smile.

"Hey" she said happily, letting them in.

"Hey, Cordy" Buffy said.

"We're all back here" Cordelia told them and they followed her out to the back deck. Willow, Tara and Xander were gathered around the patio table drinking sodas and talking.

"Hey, Summers twins" Xander greeted them.

"Hey" Buffy said back as she, Faith hand Cordelia took seats at the table.

"Haven't seen you around much, Buff" Xander pointed out.

"I know, I'm sorry… I've just been… thinking" Buffy told him.

"About?" Willow asked. Buffy knew this was the perfect opening for her to let her friends in on her very surprising news.

Buffy took a deep breath before speaking. "Uh, guys… I have something to tell you." Everyone, except Faith, looked at her intently, waiting for her to continue. She looked at her twin, who was smirking a bit, waiting for their friends' faces when Buffy told them about her pregnancy.

"Okay…" Xander said, urging her to go on.

"Okay, um… I'm… I'm pregnant" she finally said and watched her friends' faces change from wonder to shock.

"I'm sorry, did you just say 'pregnant'?" Willow asked.

"Yeah." Xander looked at Willow and Tara, who looked at each other, all in total shock.

"What? How? What?" Xander asked.

"Buffy, who's the father?" Willow asked. Buffy cringed a little. She knew one of them would ask that. It wasn't that she was ashamed that Spike was her baby's daddy, she just knew that fact of her little news would shock them more than the news that she was pregnant.

"Uh…" she hesitated. Faith's tiny smirked turned full-on as she waited for her sister to answer. "S—Spike's the father." She heard gasps from the four people sitting around the table and looks of total shock as they stared at her. No one said anything for what seemed like forever. Finally, it was Willow who spoke.

"Spike? But…I didn't even know you two were together" Willow said. Buffy looked at Faith who just continued to smirk.

"We're not" Buffy told them. "We've just been… you know." She could feel her face start to blush as her friends continued to stare at her, completely stunned. The silence was broken again by Xander's laughter. Everyone glared at his inappropriate mirth.

"Sorry" Xander apologized. "Just…shock."

"I know this is a lot" Buffy told everyone.

"How far along are you?" Cordelia asked.

"Almost four and half months."

"I'm assuming you knew, Faith" Tara said, looking at Faith's lack of surprise. Faith nodded.

"B told me when she found out" Faith told her.

"Does Spike know?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, he's known for a while" Buffy told her and Willow nodded. They sat there for a few more moments of silence.

"Well… is congratulations in order? I mean, are you happy about it?" Cordelia asked and Buffy smiled, putting her hands on her small baby bump.

"Yeah. I mean, it was definitely a shock and I had to take time to get used to it, but I'm happy about it now" Buffy told them.

"How is Spike handling it?" Willow asked.

"Good, he's happy now too. He can't wait to be a daddy" Buffy smiled.

"And you two aren't gonna get together?" Cordelia asked. Buffy sighed.

"I don't think so… I mean, I think we both just wanna keep things how they are. We'll co-parent, but… I think that's it."

"You two gonna keep screwing?" Faith piped up. Buffy glared at her. "What? I'm curious."

"I don't know, Fai" Buffy told her.

"So you haven't since you found out?" Faith asked.

"No."

"Well… congratulations then" Tara smiled.

"Yeah, this is shocking, but exciting too" Willow said, smiling also.

"We have to have a baby shower" Cordelia chimed in.

"We still have time for that" Buffy told her. "I have almost five months to go, so…"

"And I'm sure mom's already planning one" Faith added.

"Can we help?" Cordelia asked.

"I'm sure she'd appreciate that" Buffy told her. "We can talk about it soon." Xander finally chimed in again.

"Trust me" Buffy said. "I know."

"Wow, this is crazy" Xander finally chimed in again.

"Trust me" Buffy said. "I know."


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, guys, I know the last chapter was pretty short, but I didn't have anything else to write for that one. This one is about a month later, when she finds out the sex of the baby! Are Buffy and Spike gonna get together or are they just gonna co-parent? I guess you'll have to read to find out! Please review & let me know how you like this story!**

Buffy sat on the couch rubbing her swollen belly. In the past month she had grown a lot and wondered if she was a little too big for how far along she was. She thought that maybe the doctor got her due date wrong and she was further along than he had told her. Today she was finding out the gender of her baby and she couldn't be more excited.

"Hey, when's your appointment, B?" Faith asked as she came into the living room and sat next to her twin.

"At one" Buffy said. "Spike's on his way over and then we're gonna go."

"How's it goin with you two?"

"Fine."

"And you're still not thinking about a relationship?" Faith asked.

"No, Fai" Buffy rolled her eyes. Ever since Faith found out Buffy was pregnant, she's been pushing for her and Spike to become more than—as she put it—'boink buddies'. Faith returned her eye roll and sighed.

"I don't get you two" she said, getting up and turning to face her sister. "I mean, you two are good enough to have a baby together, but not good enough to be in a relationship with each other?"

"It's complicated."

"Only if you make it complicated. It can be pretty simple, you either wanna be in a relationship or you don't" Faith told her. Just as Buffy opened her mouth to speak they heard the doorbell ring and Faith went over and answered it to find Spike standing there. "Hey, Spike. We were just talking about you." Buffy glared at her twin.

"Really? Good things I hope" Spike said, entering the house and going in to the living room where Buffy was attempting to get herself up from where she sat on the couch.

"We were just talking about the baby's gender" Buffy lied as Spike helped her up.

"Well, we'll find out soon enough. You ready, luv?" Spike asked Buffy and she nodded.

"Let's get outta here" Buffy said, grabbing her purse and giving Faith a warning look before she and Spike left the house.

The ride to the doctor's office was fairly quiet. Neither of them really wanted to talk about the elephant in the room and didn't really know what else to say, so, beyond a few words of gender talk, neither of them really said much.

Once they arrived, Spike helped Buffy out of the car and they headed inside to check in.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked as Buffy walked up to the front desk.

"Hi, my name's Elizabeth Summers, I have an appointment" Buffy told the woman who typed something into the computer.

"Oh, yes. I see you have a one o'clock appointment. Just sign in here and a nurse will be calling you back shortly" the woman said and Buffy wrote her name on the sign-in sheet and she and Spike sat down in one of the empty chairs.

As they waited, Buffy looked around the room at the other patients waiting to be seen. It seemed like everyone was staring at her and Spike and it made her uncomfortable. She wondered if it was because, compared to the other women there, she looked fairly young, too young to be pregnant, as she now obviously was. Her stretched and swollen belly left nothing to the imagination. As she grew more uncomfortable, she began to get a little anxious. Spike noticed this and took her hand, lacing his fingers between hers and squeezed her hand lightly. After a few moments, he began to get a bit irritated at the women who were still staring—and doing it a little too obviously. He cleared his throat loudly.

"Is there a problem?" he asked one woman, who had particularly been rude.

"Excuse me?" the woman asked, a little shocked at his question.

"You've been staring at my girl since we sat down, so I ask again. Is. There. A. Problem?" he asked, emphasizing the last four words of his sentence.

"No…" the woman said.

"Then mind your own business, okay" Spike more demanded than asked. The woman just scoffed and turned her attention to the TV that was across the room. Buffy couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you" she whispered and he gave her a small smile.

"Don't mention it, luv" he told her. She laid her head on his shoulder, still holding on to his hand.

"Elizabeth Summer?" a nurse asked as she opened the door to the back. Buffy and Spike stood up and followed the woman to an examination room.

"My name's Heidi, I'm the nursing assistant" Heidi said and shook their hands.

"Hi, I'm Buffy and this is Spike. He's the baby's father" Buffy introduced them.

"Nice to meet you both. Just a few questions and then we'll send in the tech to find out your baby's gender" Heidi said and Buffy smiled, she couldn't wait to know if her baby was a boy or a girl. "Full name and date of birth."

"Elizabeth Anne Summers, January 19, 1981."

"Height and weight?"

"5'3'' and…" she looked at Spike, a little embarrassed for him to know her weight. Heidi looked up from what she was writing when Buffy paused.

"If you're not sure of your weight that's fine. We're gonna weigh you anyway" Heidi told her.

"Well, I'm usually 110lbs, but…" her hands roamed over her round belly as she trailed off. "Who knows how much this little one has made me put on."

Heidi smiled at the sixteen-year-old.

"We'll just have you step on the scale over here and get your exact weight then." Buffy again looked at Spike, her face beginning to blush a little. Spike could tell she was uncomfortable.

"You want me to step out, luv?" he asked. After pondering for a moment, she shook her head.

"It's okay, just don't make fun of me if I'm huge" Buffy said, half-jokingly. Spike chuckled at that.

"I would never make fun of you, luv, and you're gorgeous." Buffy smiled at that and nodded, going over to the scale, taking off her shoes and stepping on. Heidi moved the dials until the scale was balanced. Buffy was afraid to look. Her whole life, she was never above 112lbs and she was worried she had gained too much weight to lose once the baby was born.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, her eyes clenched shut. Spike and Heidi smiled at her.

"115lbs" Heidi said. "You're actually right about where you should be at this stage of your pregnancy." Spike helped Buffy off the scale and she put her shoes back on. "Okay, the tech will be in shortly, good luck." With that she left the two blondes alone. Buffy sat on the examination table waiting for the tech to come in and looked around the room. Spike could tell she was a bit nervous and was thinking about something.

"What's on your mind, pet?"

"Just thinking about the baby" Buffy said. "I know I haven't been pregnant before, but…"

"What?" he asked.

"I just feel like I'm bigger than I should be at this point."

"She just said you were right where you should be" Spike reminded her.

"I mean my belly looks bigger than it should be."

Spike shrugged. "I don't know, luv. You look perfect to me though." She smiled at him, he was always so sweet to her.

"Thank you." He nodded. Just then they heard a knock at the door.

"Come in" Buffy said and a woman walked in.

"Hello, Elizabeth?" she asked, looking down at the clipboard she had in her hand.

"Yeah, you can call me Buffy" Buffy told her and she nodded.

"Okay, Buffy. My name's Vivian, I'm the ultrasound tech" Vivian said, shaking her and Spike's hands. "Are you the father?" she asked Spike.

"Yeah" Spike told her and she smiled at them.

"Okay, well, lay back and we'll take a look at your baby." Buffy laid back and Vivian lifted Buffy shirt to reveal her round belly. "the gel's a little cold." She put the gel on Buffy's stomach and began moving the ultrasound wand around her abdomen. It only took a couple seconds for the baby to come into view on the screen.

"Oh my god, look" Buffy said in awe as she stared at the screen. The picture was grainy, being an ultrasound and all, but Buffy could still tell that she was looking at her baby. "So, can you tell the gender?" The woman's face changed, looking a bit shocked.

"What's wrong?" Spike asked, growing concerned.

"Umm…" Vivian said, moving the wand around some more. "Did anyone tell you that you're having twins?" Buffy and Spike's eyes shot open and their mouths dropped in shock.

"No…" Buffy said carefully.

"Are you telling us we're having twins?" Spike clarified.

"Look here" Vivian told them, pointing to the screen. "Can you see the two different sacks? It's definitely twins."

"Oh my god!" Buffy almost screamed. Tears began to fall as she tried to wrap her head around what she was just told and what she was looking at. It made sense now why she was so big at only 21 weeks.

"Bloody hell" Spike said, mostly to himself. They were both staring at the screen as Vivian continued moving the wand around Buffy's stomach, trying to find the reproductive organs.

"Do you still wanna know their gender?" Vivian asked the two shocked parents. Buffy just shook her head 'yes', finding it hard to speak. "Okay then." She moved the wand around a little more. "You're having two baby girls. They look great, very healthy and perfect sizes for gestational age."

"Two girls?" Buffy clarified. Vivian nodded. Buffy's eyes filled with more tears and began falling down her cheeks.

"I'll let you two have some time alone. I'll print the pictures for you also. When you're ready, go to the front desk and the receptionist will give you the photos." Buffy just nodded, getting lost in the many thoughts that were filling her mind.

"Thank you" Spike told her and Vivian smiled, turning the lights back on and leaving them alone in the room. Buffy cleaned the gel off her stomach and sat up, pulling her shirt back down. She was in total shock. "You okay, luv?"

"I… I don't know" Buffy said, not looking at him.

"It's gonna be okay" he assured her. "I know we were thinking we'd just have one little nibblet to take care of, but we'll be okay taking care of two." Buffy continued to be silent as she let her thoughts take over. Spike could see the tears falling and went over, taking her in his arms as she began to cry. "Shhh, it's okay."

"I was scared before, when I thought we were having one, but… God, I'm terrified, Spike" she told him through tears. He stroked her hair, holding her close.

"I know, me too" he told her. "I promise we'll figure this out. Let's get you home, okay?" Buffy nodded. He helped her off the exam table and they gathered their stuff, leaving the room and getting their pictures before leaving the office. Things were going to be completely different now that they were having two babies. They were both terrified, but Spike decided right then that he wouldn't let her see how scared he was. He was determined to take care of all three of them and he was going to be strong for her.


	9. Chapter 9

Buffy laid in Spike's bed trying to sleep. It had been a few days since they found out they were having twins and the shock had yet to ware off. Buffy had decided to stay the night at Spike's that night because Dawn was having a sleepover and she wasn't in the mood to deal with a bunch of preteen girls shrieking and carrying on. Faith, feeling the same way, decided to stay at Willow's. As Buffy turned to face Spike's side of the bed, she realized he wasn't there and sat up slightly to look around the dark room.

"Spike?"

A few moments later, Spike came into the bedroom. "What is it, luv? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just can't sleep" Buffy told him, leaning back on to her pillows. Spike crawled back into bed next to her and rubbed her belly.

"Yeah, me either" he admitted. "Just doin some thinkin."

"About?" she asked.

"Us" he told her. She looked at him, a little confused.

"You mean us having twins?"

"I mean us having a relationship" he told her. Her expression changed from confusion to surprise.

"A relationship? You want a relationship?"

"Don't you?"

"I... I don't know" she said. "I mean, if you want this just because I'm pregnant—"

"I want this because I'm in love with you" he blurted, cutting her off. The look on her face made him regret his outburst.

"You…"

"Yeah, I love you" he repeated, there was no going back now. It wasn't that he was lying, he did love her, a great deal in fact. He just didn't want to scare her off and the look on her face made him wonder if he had done just that. "Look, we don't have to make a thing out of it… If you don't feel the same, then it's okay. I just… I had to tell you." She looked at him for a few moments. Just as he thought she was going to get up and walk out of the room, she leaned over and kissed his lips fervently. His surprise quickly turned to happiness as he pulled her closer to him, returning the kiss. His tongue crept into her mouth and she welcomed it, touching her tongue to his. After a few moments, she broke the kiss so they could breathe. "Does that mean…"

"I love you too" she whispered. "I kept telling myself that we were just gonna parent together and that there was nothing between us… but I was just scared that you didn't want anything more. I was scared that I was gonna get hurt again like with my last two relationships, but I can't keep running from happiness because of fear."

"I've wanted more even before you got pregnant. I've been in love with you for so long now that… I can't remember not being in love with you" he told her. She smiled at him, snuggling into him as he held her.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" she asked once she was comfortable.

"I was afraid you didn't want anything more. You were so adamant before about just wanting to be friends with benefits that I was afraid I'd scare you off or something if I told you how I felt about you" he told her and they chuckled. "See what lack of communication gets us?" She looked up at him and smiled.

"I can't believe this is happening."

"You happy?" he asked and she nodded.

"So happy" she told him, laying he head back on his chest. He kissed her forehead.

"Go to sleep now" he whispered when he heard her yawn. It didn't take long before they were both sound asleep.

Buffy arrived back home around 11am the next morning and walked in through the front door. She hung up her jacket and purse and walked into the kitchen. Thankfully all Dawn's little friends had left and it was just Dawn and their mother sitting at the island having a late breakfast.

"Hi, sweetheart. Did you sleep well at Spike's last night?" Joyce asked. She wasn't too thrilled about her sixteen-year-old daughter staying the night at a boy's apartment, but she figured nothing worse could happen now that Buffy was pregnant. Plus, she knew how stressed out dealing with all those little girls would be for her and wanted her to remain as stress-free as possible since she was 5 months along—and with twins. When Joyce, Faith and Dawn had found out Buffy was having twins they were both shocked and excited. Joyce was worried for her daughter and Spike, knowing how much harder taking care of twins was for her at a young age. She had promised to be as much help as they needed and they graciously accepted.

"Yeah, I slept better than I have in a while actually" Buffy told her, going to the fridge and getting out the orange juice. She poured herself a glass and joined them at the island. "Where's Faith?"

"Still at Willow's" Joyce told her and Buffy nodded.

"So, Buffy" Dawn said. "Have you thought of any names for the babies, since you know they're both girls?"

"We've thought of a few, but haven't settled on any yet" Buffy told her. Ever since they found out they were having twin girls a few days ago, they had started talking about names and Buffy had complied a small list of the ones they liked, but they hadn't made any decisions yet.

"What are some you like?" Joyce asked.

"Well, I don't have the list right now, but, I know we like Amber, Haylee, Olivia and… that's all I can remember right now" Buffy told them.

"Those are pretty" Dawn said.

"Very pretty" Joyce agreed.

"Did they say if the babies are identical?" Dawn asked and Buffy shook her head.

"Nope, they're fraternal like Faith and me" Buffy told her and Joyce smiled.

"I can't believe my baby's having twins" she said, pulling her oldest daughter into a hug. "I remember how I reacted when they told me I was having you and Faith. I was so scared, but extremely happy as well."

"Yeah, I'm definitely scared" Buffy admitted. "But, the more I think about it the happier I get. I know I've always loved having a twin. Faith's my best friend in the whole world and I hope my baby girls are that close."

"I'm sure they will be, sweetie" Joyce assured her.

Buffy got up, drinking the rest of her orange juice and putting the empty glass in the sink. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Okay, sweetie" Joyce told her and she went upstairs.

Buffy took a long, hot shower, hoping the hot water would wash away some of the tension she had in her back from carrying all the extra weight. After getting out, she put on her robe, wrapped her hair up in her towel and went into her and Faith's room to get dressed. When she walked in, Faith was there at her desk on her laptop.

"Hey" Buffy greeted her sister and Faith turned around to face her.

"Hey, B. How was it sleepin at Spike's last night?" Faith asked with a twinge of a smirk. Buffy knew what she meant and rolled her eyes.

"We didn't do anything if that's what you're wondering. We haven't really done anything since I got bigger. I think Spike's afraid he'll hurt the babies or something" Buffy told her with a chuckle.

"And how are you two?"

Buffy smiled, she realized that she hadn't told anyone about her and Spike's recent declaration of love for one another. Of course, it had only happened the night before.

"Umm… he loves me" she said, continuing to smile.

"Well, duh" Faith said, rolling her eyes. Buffy glared playfully at her sister.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're like the only one who didn't know how in love with you he's been since forever" Faith told her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Buffy whined. Faith rolled her eyes at her sister again.

"That's not something you can exactly tell someone, B. You had to figure it out on your own. So, you're gonna raise my nieces together? Like, as a couple?" Faith asked.

"Yep" Buffy said. Faith got up from her desk and hugged her sister.

"I'm so happy for you two. I was hoping this would happen."

"Really? Why?"

"Because I've known for a while that you loved Spike too" Faith told her.

"How? I just realized it myself" Buffy asked.

"Well, I guess I know you better than you know yourself" Faith said as Buffy got dressed. "Are you gonna move in with him?"

"I'm only sixteen, Fai" Buffy told her, as if Faith had forgotten how old she was.

"Yeah, and you're pregnant" Faith reminded her.

"That doesn't mean Spike and I are getting married or anything."

"You don't have to get married to live together" Faith told her, going back over to her desk.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked, trying to change the subject.

"Stupid English assignment" Faith told her, starting to type. After Buffy finished putting on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, she went over to see what Faith was writing. Faith quickly closed her laptop before Buffy could read anything.

"Hey, what'd you do that for?" Buffy asked.

"I don't want anyone to see. I suck at writing and am just trying to get this paper over with and get my lousy grade" Faith told her.

"Since when do you hide things from me?"

"Not things, just this" Faith said and Buffy rolled her eyes, going over to her bed and carefully sitting herself down. After she was seated, she carefully laid herself back on her pillows.

"Fine, whatever you say" Buffy told her and picked up the book she'd been reading.

"You're in this class too, have you finished your paper?" Faith asked, turning around to face Buffy.

"Not yet" Buffy said, not taking her eyes off her book until she felt Faith still staring at her and looked up at her sister. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just… your grades have slipped a little since you've gotten pregnant and I don't want you to fail" Faith said and Buffy rolled her eyes playfully at her.

"I'm not gonna fail" Buffy assured her. "The paper's not due till Monday, I'll get it done before that. Writing's easy for me."

"Okay" Faith said, giving up and turning her attention to her own paper.

Buffy suddenly woke up. Looking around her room, she realized she had fallen asleep while reading her book. She was still in a seated position and her neck was quite sore from the way she'd fallen asleep. As she worked herself out of bed and stood up, she looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand and it read 4:23pm.

"Jeez, I slept for hours" Buffy said to herself as she cradled her back, making her way out of her bedroom and downstairs. As she got to the stairs, she heard the familiar voice of her now boyfriend and smiled, descending the stairs carefully.

"Oh, you're awake" Faith said as Buffy came into the living room. Spike stood up, going over to her and helping her over to the oversized chair. She sat down, one hand cradling her back and the other holding on to Spike as she did so.

"Yeah" she said. "I didn't even realize how tired I was."

"How are you feelin, luv?" Spike asked, sitting on the arm of the chair.

"Okay, my neck's a bit sore from the way I was sleeping, but other than that I'm fine."

"I think we should discuss baby names" Dawn chimed in; she was reading a baby name book.

"We?" Buffy asked with a smile. "Since when did naming our daughters become a family event?"

"We can't help at all?" Dawn asked with a bit of a pout.

"You can give suggestions I guess, but Spike and I are gonna be the ones who pick their names" Buffy told her.

"Well" Dawn said, getting up and bringing the baby name book over to Buffy. "I've found quite a few cute ones. I've highlighted them for you."

"How nice of you" Buffy smiled at her baby sister, taking the book and looking at some of the names she had highlighted.

"Okay, let's see, Nibblet…" Spike said, looking at the book as well.

"Jasmine, no" Buffy vetoed the first highlighted name as her and Spike looked at the pages.

"I'd say no to Talia as well" Spike said.

"And no to Hillary" Buffy said, turning the page.

"Is there any ones you like that I highlighted?" Dawn asked with a pout.

"I kinda like Makaila" Buffy said.

"Eh, I don't think I do, luv" Spike told her.

"Okay, then that's vetoed" Buffy said.

"What names are on your list then?" Dawn asked, crossing her arms over her chest and slumping down in the couch.

"Spike, get my purse over there, please" Buffy told her boyfriend, pointing to the coat rack. Spike did as she asked, bringing the purse over to her. Buffy retrieved the list she had complied and placed the purse on the floor beside the chair. "Okay…Olivia, Haylee, Arianna, Amber, Kaydence, Aliyah and Averianna."

"Are you each picking a name?" Joyce asked.

"Yeah, that's what I want to do" Buffy told her. "Spike's not been much help though." Buffy looked over at Spike with a playful glare and he rolled his eyes at her.

"Not that good at girl names, luv" he told her.

"Well, you better start thinking. We're having two daughters who both need names and you're picking one of them" Buffy said.

"Well, when you tell me the name you've picked I'll come up with one that goes with that one" Spike promised. "So, I came over here to see if you wanted to come over to my pace for a bit. I have something to show you."

"Okay, sure" Buffy said, getting out of the chair with Spike's help. "I'll be home later tonight, ma."

"Okay, honey. Have a good time, you two" Joyce the two blondes as Spike helped Buffy put on her jacket and they left.

Spike barely said a word on the short drive to his apartment. Buffy kept eyeing him, wondering what he was thinking.

"You okay?" she asked, taking his hand. He glanced over, smiling softly at her and kissing her hand, which he held securely in his.

"Fine, pet" he told her as he pulled into his apartment complex parking lot and parked the car. He got out, going over to her side of the car and opening her door for her, helping her out as well. He took her hand, leading her up to his apartment and only let go long enough to unlock the door. Once opened, he led her inside the house and shut the door. Buffy looked at him, wondering what was going on. She was becoming nervous.

"Why are you so quiet?" she asked as he took her hand again and began to lead her to the back rooms. "Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

Spike shook his head. "Nope, unless you don't like it" he told her and she looked at him with confusion as he opened the door to the spare room.

"Like wha—" she began, but stopped when she saw what he was talking about. The walls of the room were painted pink. There were two white cribs in the room on either side; in the middle, against the parallel wall, was a white changing table. Buffy's mouth dropped open as her eyes filled with tears; it was their daughters' nursery. "How… what…" she looked at him in awe. "When did you do this?"

Spike gave her a small smile. "Been workin on it for about a week now" he told her as she let go of his hand to venture further into the room, looking around. "It's still not completely done. We gotta get clothes and other things. Once we decide on their names I wanna put them above their beds in those wooden letters." Buffy looked back at him with a beaming grin, tears starting to trickle down her cheeks. "Do you like it, luv?"

"Are you kidding?" she asked, astonished. "It's incredible, I love it."

"I'm glad" he told her, his smile becoming big and proud. "I was hoping you wouldn't be upset with me."

"Why would I be upset with you?"

"Because I didn't let you help" he chuckled, she chuckled as well.

"Well, normally I would have been upset not to get to help, but…" she looked around the room again, running her hand over one of the cribs. "This is… Thank you so much." She went back over to him, hugging him tightly. He held on to her like his life depended on it, pulling away a bit to kiss her lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too" he told her, kneeling down to talk to her stomach like it was an intercom. "And I love both of you as well, more than you'll ever know." After kissing her swollen belly, he got back to his feet, kissing Buffy's lips once more. "So, do you wanna go relax and watch a movie or something?"

"Or something" she smirked at him, kissing him again. As her tongue slid into his mouth, he broke the kiss; she looked at him, a little confused. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, baby" he told her, taking her hand to lead her out of the room. "I just think we shouldn't do anything that could potentially harm our babies."

"Spike, sex isn't gonna harm the babies" Buffy smiled at him.

"How do you know?" he asked her. "Is that something you've talked to your doctor about?" Buffy shook her head.

"No…"

"Well, until you do I think it best to be safe rather than sorry, don't you?" he asked, kissing her on her forehead before leading her to the living room. "I just love you and these babies so much. If anything were to happen… I just wanna make sure."

"Okay" she sighed, feeling a little hurt, although she'd never admit it.

"So, a movie?" he asked again, sitting on the couch and gently pulling her down with him.

"Sure" she said as he picked the remote off the coffee table and turned on the tv. She snuggled into him and he put his arm around her, pulling him close to him protectively.

"I love you, Goldilocks" he told her and she looked up at him and smiled.

"I love you too, William."


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, guys. I hope you guys are enjoying this story. This chapter is a few months into the future, right before Buffy's gives birth. I think the next chapter is gonna be the birth chapter, we'll see. As always, enjoy and please review!**

Buffy sighed as she held on to the cart to brace herself. She, her mother and sisters were shopping for her baby shower, which was the next day. Buffy was now 8 months pregnant and, carrying twins, she was huge by this point. As she closed her eyes and exhaled deeply, Joyce, Faith and Dawn came up to her.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Joyce asked, seeing her pregnant daughter's expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Buffy said. "Just tired."

"Do you wanna go?" her mother asked, but Buffy shook her head.

"No, we gotta get the rest of the stuff we need, the shower's tomorrow" Buffy told her, beginning to push the cart again as the other three Summers women walked beside her.

"We can get everything, B. You should sit, you look like crap" Faith told her, getting a glare from her twin.

"Thanks, Fai" Buffy said sarcastically.

"You know what I mean" Faith said. "You need to be careful not to over exert yourself. You know what the doctor said." Her doctor had told her at her last appointment the week before that she needed to take it easy. Over tiring herself could make her go into pre-mature labor, he told her.

"Yeah, I know, I'm not stupid" Buffy snapped, beginning to get annoyed, but then took a breath to calm herself. "I'm sorry, I'm just…"

"8 months pregnant?" Joyce offered with a smile and Buffy smiled back.

"I was gonna say huge and tired" Buffy told her. "Let's just get what we need and go home, please."

"Okay" Joyce said as they searched the isles for everything they had on their list.

A half an hour later, they had bought everything on their list and were headed home. Before going home, they stopped at KFC because Buffy was having a craving. Once they got the food, Joyce dropped Buffy and Faith at home and took Dawn to her dance class.

"So, can I have some of that chicken or will you try to break my hand like last time?" Faith asked, only half-jokingly, remembering the last time she tried to take some of her pregnant sister's food.

"Go ahead" Buffy said through a mouthful of chicken. She had ordered an 8-piece, extra crispy bucket, some honey barbeque, boneless wings, some mashed potatoes, corn, green beans and a few biscuits. Faith, after making sure her sister meant it, reached into the bucket for a chicken leg and began eating it. Just as Buffy opened the mashed potatoes, the doorbell rang and Spike walked in two seconds later.

"Hey, Summers twins" he said, coming into the kitchen where Buffy and Faith were seated at the island with the food sprawled over the counter.

"Why do you ring the doorbell if you just walk in before anyone can answer?" Buffy asked playfully; Spike shrugged.

"Don't know" he said, turning his attention to the copious amounts of food on the island. "Wow, hungry, pet?" Buffy shot him a look of death at his remark and he put his hands up, as if to surrender. "Sorry, don't stake me through the heart" he joked.

"I'd be careful, Spike" Faith warned. "Her hormones are raging today." Buffy turned her glare to her twin sister and Faith smirked a bit before getting up, grabbing another chicken leg and heading out of the kitchen. "I'll be upstairs." After Faith was gone, Spike went over and sat down next to his girl.

"How are you feeling, luv?"

"Huge" Buffy said through a mouthful of food, Spike smiled at her.

"You're not huge. You're the gorgeous mother of my twin daughters" he assured her, but she rolled her eyes at him, looking down at her protruding, and very round, stomach.

"Please, I'm a whale" she scoffed. "Want some chicken?"

"Sure" he said, grabbing a paper plate and retrieving a couple wings out of the box. "So, you excited about your shower tomorrow?"

" _My_ shower?" she asked. "Don't you mean _our_ shower?"

"Isn't that more of a girly thing, pet?" he asked and she glared at him.

"No…" she said carefully. "They're your babies too, y'know."

"Yeah, I know" he said. "I just thought the baby shower was a female thing. Thought guys weren't allowed."

"Some people do it that way, but not me, not _us_ " she told him, wiping her mouth with a napkin and taking a drink of her water. "Are you saying you don't wanna be there?"

"If you want me to be there, I will be" he told her. "Anything to make you happy." She smiled at him.

"Thank you." He nodded at her.

"You wanna stay at my place tonight, luv?"

"Sure" Buffy said. "I've been feeling tense… maybe you could… relieve some of my tension" she smirked at him.

"We'll see" he said, kissing her on the forehead and taking his now empty plate to the trash. Buffy frowned at that. They hadn't been intimate for months now and she was beginning to suspect that he didn't find her desirable or attractive anymore. She silently looked down at her huge belly. _I wouldn't find me attractive either_ , she thought. Feeling full, she packed the food up and put it in the refrigerator. Spike came up behind her, putting his arms—as best he could—around her waist, but Buffy moved away before he could kiss her cheek. "Somethin wrong, baby?"

"No" she lied. "I just wanna go get some stuff together so we can head over to your place."

"Okay" he said, though he didn't completely believe her. She gave him a quick peck on the lips before waddling to the stairs. "Need help?"

"Nope, I'm good" Buffy told him, heading upstairs as fast as she could, but, being 32 weeks pregnant, wasn't very fast at all.

"What's up?" Faith asked as Buffy entered their room.

"I'm gonna spend the night at Spike's tonight" Buffy said, but her sister's frown made Faith confused.

"What's wrong, B?"

"Nothing" Buffy attempted to lie, but she knew Faith knew her better than that. "Okay, it's just… I don't think Spike wants me anymore. Y'know, sexually."

"Why do you say that?" Faith asked as Buffy packed a bag for the night.

"We haven't done anything in months, and every time I try to start something, he shuts it down so quick that I'm left wondering if it's me" Buffy told her.

"Have you talked to him about it?"

"Not really" Buffy admitted. "I mean, he tells me it's because he doesn't wanna hurt the babies, but…"

"Well, maybe that's true" Faith told her.

"Yeah, but I told him the doctor said it was okay" Buffy continued. "I mean, she even said that having sex was a good way to induce labor when it's time."

"Maybe he's afraid having sex will put you into labor early" Faith offered and Buffy sighed, picking up her bag and her coat.

"I don't know… I just feel like it's more than that."

"Well, I advise you to ask" Faith told her. "You can't keep stuff like that inside, B, it'll ruin your relationship."

"Maybe you're right" Buffy said. "Tell mom I'll be back in the morning to get ready for the shower, okay?"

"Okay" Faith said and Buffy kissed her on the cheek before leaving their room and went back downstairs to where Spike was waiting.

"Ready to go, luv?"

"Yep" she said. He took her bag as she put on her coat and then they left the house, getting into his car and heading for his apartment.

After getting to Spike's apartment and taking off her shoes—with Spike's help—Buffy settled herself on the couch, putting up the foot rest and reclining back a bit. Her back was pretty sore from the extra weight of her babies and she desperately wanted to relieve some of the tension it caused. Buffy sighed, her mind still on the fact that—to her—Spike wasn't interested in her body anymore. Spike could sense something was wrong with his girl and looked at her with concern.

"Anything wrong, luv?" Buffy looked at him, her sister's advice still ringing in her mind.

"No" she lied. She knew Faith was right about talking to him, but she didn't know how to approach the subject. Spike looked skeptically at her.

"Don't lie to me" he said, more sternly than he had intended. Buffy looked surprised at him; he never took that tone with her.

"I'm not" she protested and he sighed with frustration, rolling his eyes at the pregnant blonde.

"You don't think I know you better than that?" he told her, his tone laced with annoyance. "Talk to me" he said in a softer voice. This time it was Buffy who sighed with frustration. Spike sat next to the mother of his children, waiting for her to speak.

"I'm just…" Buffy hesitated, avoiding his eyes. He lifted her chin, bringing her eyes to meet his again.

"Talk to me" he told her again, his tone now concerned and loving.

"Fine, you wanna know what's wrong?" she asked, getting agitated. He nodded at her. "My problem is you, and the fact that I don't turn you on anymore." He looked at her, completely dumbfounded and shocked. To him, this had come out of nowhere.

"What?" he asked, having no idea how or why she had come to that very wrong conclusion.

"You haven't wanted me in months" Buffy elaborated. "Every time I try to start fooling around you stop me. You don't even wanna make out with me anymore."

"That's not… I don't _not_ want to" he said.

"Then why haven't we had sex in so long?" Buffy asked. "Why when I try to make out or want to do it you stop me and make excuses?"

"I don't make excuses" he protested. "I told you, I don't wanna hurt—"

"And I told you the doctor said it was perfectly safe to have sex while pregnant" Buffy said, annoyed at this point. She closed the foot rest, working herself up to a standing position and began to walk out of the room. Spike stood up as well, grabbing her arm and turning her back toward him, kissing her hard on the lips. She started to stop him, putting her hands on his chest to push him away, but as his tongue slipped into her mouth, she could no longer protest, sinking against him as his arms wrapped around her waist. He took one of her hands, pulling it down to his crotch, pressing it up against him and she squeezed lightly. A moan came from his throat as he moved from her mouth to her neck and she closed her eyes, digging the nails of her free hand into his shoulder which she gripped for support. He was hard now, as she kept a firm, but gentle grip on his member. As he looked her in the eyes, he smirked at her.

"Feel that, luv?" he whispered to her, pressing her hand more firmly against the bulge in his pants. "How could you think you still don't do that to me?" His eyes were glistened with lust as he smirked at her. She smiled back at him, kissing his lips softly. "You do still turn me on, baby, all the time. I lay in bed some nights wanting you so badly."

"Then why—"

"Because, as stupid as it sounds, I really am afraid something could happen to our babies" he told her. "I know what the doctor said, but… And now, you're so close to delivery… I would never forgive myself if something bad happened to our daughters just because I couldn't control my sexual urges. I love you so much, and I love these babies more than… I can wait, if it means a safe delivery and healthy babies."

"I get it" Buffy said, making him sigh with relief a bit. "But, Spike, I have needs too."

"I know, baby" he told her. "Why don't we go take care of those needs, eh?"

"But you just said—" she began, but was cut off by his lips on hers.

"I said do something about _your_ needs, luv, not mine. There are other ways of handling them, y'know" he hinted with a smirk, taking her hand and leading her to his bedroom.

Buffy sighed a pleasant sigh of relaxation. Spike was right about being able to take care of her needs in another way, and he had done just that – twice. Smiling with satisfaction, Buffy snuggled into Spike as they laid in his bed.

"God, you are so good at that" she told him and he chuckled at her, feeling a huge sense of pride.

"Well, thank you, Goldilocks. I'm glad your satisfied" he said and she smiled, leaning up a bit to look at him.

"More than satisfied" she said, leaning down to kiss his lips softly. "Thank you."

"Anytime, baby" he said. She laid her head back on him, snuggling into him more. Spike wrapped his arms tighter around her, his whole world right there in that bed.

"Mmm, I'm so sleepy" she yawned. He kissed the top of her head and yawned himself.

"Go to sleep, luv" he said. "You have a big day tomorrow."

" _We_ have a big day" she reminded him and he chucked a bit.

"Well, it may be our baby shower, but it's your day, luv" he told her, kissing her head again. "Now, go to sleep."

"Kay" she agreed, yawning again and closed her eyes.

Buffy was awoken by the smell of breakfast cooking the next morning. She smiled to herself as she stretched and then sat up, slowly working herself out of bed. She made her way into the kitchen where Spike stood at the stove. Smiling again, she went over to see what he was making.

"Mornin, luv" he said when he noticed her. "Sleep well?"

"Very well actually" she told him, kissing him on the lips.

"Well, I hope you're hungry" he told her and she chuckled at that, she was always hungry.

"Duh" she said playfully. She looked at the stove; he had bacon and shredded potatoes cooking and was working on an omelet.

"What do you want in your omelet?" he asked her, going over to the counter; she looked at the omelet ingredients he had set out.

"Hmm… just cheese and mushrooms" she told him.

"Okay, why don't you go relax in the living room and I'll bring your breakfast right out" he told her and kissed her on the forehead.

"Okay" she smiled, going into the living room and sitting herself down. After a few minutes, he joined her, carrying two plates of food. After pulling over two tv trays, he set her plate of food in front of her and put his next to her where he intended to sit.

"Something to drink, baby?" he asked.

"Milk, please" she said and he nodded, disappearing back into the kitchen. He returned a minute later with two glasses. He put her glass of milk on her tray and sat down with his glass of orange juice. "This looks amazing, baby. Thank you."

"Don't mention it" he told her as she took a bite of her omelet.

"Oh my god, so good" she said and he smirked at her.

"I think that's what you said last night" he joked and she giggled, hitting him on the arm playfully. "Okay, eat up, I have to get you back to your house so you can get ready for the shower."

After they ate, Spike dropped Buffy off at her place and promised to return right after he got ready himself. Buffy walked in through the front door and hung up her coat, walking into the kitchen where she heard the voices of her mother and sisters.

"Hey" she greeted them.

"Oh, sweetie, there you are" Joyce said.

"How ya feeling, B?" Faith asked.

"I'm good, whatcha guys doin?" Buffy asked.

"Well, I started the food an hour ago and we're just getting the decorations ready to hang up" Joyce said.

"How long have you been up?" Buffy wondered.

"Oh, since 5:30, I think" Joyce told her.

"Why so early?" Buffy asked, going over to the island where her mother and sisters were putting together party favors.

"I wanted to give myself enough time to get all the food done and make sure everything was perfect for today" Joyce told her daughter. "It's my baby girl's baby shower, it has to go without a glitch."

"I'm sure it'll be great, mom" Buffy assured her. "What can I do?"

"Nothing" Joyce and Faith said in unison and Buffy sighed.

"What do you mean, 'nothing'?"

"Honey, this is your day. All I want you to do is get yourself ready and then relax until it's party time" Joyce said.

"Yeah, we don't want you to worry about a thing" Dawn added.

"Just go take a nice, hot shower and get dressed. I'll do your hair and makeup if you want" Faith offered and Buffy smiled at her family.

"Okay, thanks, you guys" Buffy told them and they all smiled at her.

Buffy went upstairs and took a hot shower, like Faith had suggested. After she was done, she went into her and Faith's room to decide on what she was going to wear. The shower was going to be there, at her house, and she hoped everyone would fit comfortably, fearing they had invited too many people. She wasn't even sure how many people were going to show up, as not everyone RSVP'd. After flipping through the clothes in her closet for a while, she finally decided on a pair of brown jeans and a yellow top that was fitted around the top of her ribcage and flowed out slightly on the bottom; it showed off her pregnancy belly quite well and looked adorable on her. After getting dressed and putting on a pair of brown boots, she went back downstairs to get Faith so she could do her hair and makeup like she had promised.

"Okay, how do I look?" Buffy asked her mother and sisters; they were busy putting up decorations now.

"You look perfect" Joyce told her.

"Not yet" Buffy said. "Fai, will you come do my makeup and hair now?"

"Sure thing, sis" Faith said.

"Can I help?" Dawn asked as Faith and Buffy headed back upstairs.

"Uh, why don't you stay down here and help mom, Dawnie. I'm sure she needs you" Faith told her baby sister and looked to her mother for help.

"I really do need your help, Dawnie" Joyce told her youngest. "Can you please stay down here and help me hang these streamers?"

"Okay" Dawn sighed and Faith ushered Buffy back upstairs to complete her look for today.

An hour later, Buffy's hair and makeup was done and she was ready. Faith got dressed herself and then joined everyone back downstairs. Buffy was seated in the living room, having been shooed out of the kitchen and told to go relax and wait for people to arrive. Starting to get bored, she was happy when Spike arrived.

"Hey, baby, in here" she called to her boyfriend as he shut the front door. He smiled, walking into the living room to greet her.

"Hey, beautiful" he greeted her, helping her up from the chair to kiss her. He then looked her up and down. "You look amazing."

"So do you" Buffy smiled, looking at what Spike was wearing. She was surprised to see him in something other than black. He had on a dark gray pair of dress pants and a blue collared shirt, which brought out his eyes a lot.

"Thanks, don't get used to this look though" he told her and she rolled her eyes playfully at him.

Finally, everyone had arrived and the party had started. They decided—or rather Buffy did—that the first thing they wanted to do was open presents. As Buffy sat in the oversized chair, Spike seated on the arm, Buffy opened up each present, Dawn's job being to write down what her sister got and who it came from so "thank you" cards could be sent out later.

"Okay, this one's from Willow" Joyce said as she handed the gift bag to her daughter. Buffy looked at Willow and smiled, opening the gift bag to find two cute little fleece sleepers, one which was hot pink and had orange and green polka dots on it and the other was green and had pink and orange polka dots. The feet of the sleeper looked like little shoes.

"Oh my god, these are so freakin cute!" Buffy exclaimed, examining the outfits further.

"There's more" Willow smiled. Buffy handed the outfits to Spike and dug deeper into the bag, pulling out a gift card. She noticed it was to a spa. "Something for babies, something for mama."

"Aww, Will" Buffy said with a smile. "Thank you. Come hug me so I don't have to get up." Willow smiled, going over and hugging her friend.

"You're welcome."

"Okay, this one's from... oh, there's no name on—" Joyce began to say, looking for a card or a note that had the giver's name's on it.

"Uh, that's from me, Joyce" Spike told her, getting up and taking it from her and going back over to Buffy. "I was gonna give this to you in private, but, thought you'd like to open it at your party in front of your family and friends." Spike handed Buffy a small box that was wrapped in pink, shiny paper. Buffy smiled at him, taking the box from his hand and opening it. She gasped as she saw what was inside; it was a ring that had four birthstones on it, a garnet one, two aquamarine ones and a sapphire one; the band was in white gold and had little diamonds in between the birthstones. Buffy's eyes filled with tears as Spike took the ring out of the box and put it on her right ring finger.

"Oh my god" she breathed, touching the stones of the ring.

"This isn't a proposal" Spike began. "I mean, I love you more than anything, but, I'm not the type of propose in cliché ways. However, we _are_ a family, or at least we're going to be soon. I want you to know that I'll always be here, no matter what. I love you—so much—and I love these babies with all my heart. You can look at this ring and it'll remind you of how we're all connected now—forever."

"Aww, baby" Buffy said through happy tears. She leaned over and kissed his lips softly. Once the kiss was broken, he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Do you like it, pet?"

"I love it" she said, looking at the ring again and then back at him. "And I love you, more than I thought it was possible to love anyone." He smiled at that and kissed her again, kissing her forehead right after.

"Let me see" Dawn chimed in after a couple beats of loving silence between the soon-to-be parents. Buffy lifted her hand to show everyone the beautiful ring. "Can I try it on?"

"Absolutely not" Buffy told her and received a pout from the thirteen-year-old.

"It really is a beautiful ring" Joyce smiled at her daughter and Spike.

"Yeah, good job, Spike" Faith added and Spike smiled proudly.

The party ended around 7:30pm and everyone eventually went home; Spike was the only one left there with the Summers women.

"So, did you enjoy your party?" Joyce asked her daughter after everyone had settled in the living room.

"Yeah, it was perfect" Buffy told her. "But, I'm sleepy now." Buffy yawned and stretched.

"Why don't we get you to bed, luv?" Spike said, helping her up from the couch.

"Okay, night, guys" Buffy said to her mother and sisters as Spike took her hand and led her to the stairs.

"Goodnight, sweetheart, sleep well" Joyce said.

"Night, Buffy" Dawn said.

"I'll be up later, B" Faith told her and Buffy nodded.

Spike helped Buffy upstairs and once Buffy had changed into more comfortable sleeping clothes, he helped her into bed and tucked her in.

"Sleep tight, luv" he said, kissing her on her forehead and turned to leave the room.

"Wait" Buffy called back and he turned back to face her again. "Stay with me?"

"Uh… you sure your mom wouldn't mind that, pet?"

"We're just gonna be sleeping, Spike" Buffy smiled at him. "And besides, how do you think my mom thinks I got pregnant? By not ever sleeping in the same bed as you?" Spike chuckled at her, going back over to her bed, taking off his shoes and climbing in bed with her, crawling up to lay behind her on the pillows. She turned over, laying her head on his chest and snuggling into him. "I love you" she yawned and he smiled, kissing her forehead again.

"I love you too, baby. Now get some rest" Spike told her and she didn't protest. It was only a few minutes before Buffy was sound asleep. Spike laid there for a while, stroking her hair and breathing in her scent. He smiled to himself. He couldn't have been happier at that moment. He had everything he could ask for; he just couldn't wait until his babies were born; then his life would be complete with his three girls.


	11. Chapter 11

Four weeks had passed since the baby shower and Buffy and Spike put all the stuff they got in the nursery Spike made in his apartment. A few days after the shower, Spike had asked Buffy to move in with him. After discussing it with her mother and Faith—she discussed everything with her twin—she decided it would be easier to live with him, that way they wouldn't have to buy four of everything for the babies. Besides, she loved him and wanted to live with him. Joyce, though not the happiest about her now seventeen-year-old daughter—Buffy's birthday the month before—living with the guy that got her pregnant at sixteen, knew how much they loved each other and she knew that it would indeed be easier for them to be under the same roof with their children. Buffy had moved into Spike's apartment two weeks ago and, so far, was loving living with the love of her life; Spike was more than thrilled Buffy agreed to move in.

Buffy stood in the girls' room, looking at the almost finished product. The only thing they had left to do was put their names above their cribs in those little wooden letters like Spike wanted, but first they would have to choose their names. They had been thinking intently about it, but still hadn't made any final decisions.

"What are you doin, luv?" Spike asked as he came into the nursery.

"Thinking" Buffy said plainly, staring at one of the cribs. Spike came over to her, placing a hand on her back.

"About what?" he asked, rubbing her back soothingly. She looked at him and then down at her belly, placing her hands over it lovingly.

"About how we still don't have names for these two" Buffy told him, looking back at him with a sigh. "We really have to come up with them, Spike."

"I know, baby" he agreed. "Have you narrowed any down yet?"

"Kinda, narrowed my list down to three" Buffy said. "Haylee, Oliva and Averianna. What about you?"

"I think I've narrowed it down too" Spike told her. "Either Arianna or Amber."

"Okay, well, that's good. It'll be easier to pick from there" Buffy said, taking his hand and heading toward the living room. With Spike's help she sat down, putting up the foot rest to take pressure off her aching back; Spike sat next to her.

"Which one do you like best from your list?" Spike asked her.

"I think I like Averianna, call her Averi for short?" Buffy suggested and Spike smiled.

"I like that a lot, luv."

"What about your list?" Buffy asked.

"Well, I think either one would go with Averianna" Spike said. "But I think I like Arianna best."

"Averianna and Arianna; Averi and Ari. I think they go cute together" Buffy smiled back at him. He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"So, we finally have their names then?" he checked with her and she nodded.

"Yep. They do need middle names though."

"Oh, balls" Spike groaned, he hadn't even thought of that.

"Well, I did have a thought on that" Buffy continued. "I wanted to give them Faith and Elizabeth as their middle names." Spike smiled sweetly at her.

"I think that's a great idea, pet" he told her. "But which middle name goes with which first name?"

"Well, Averianna's a longer name so I think that Faith should go with that one, and Elizabeth should go with Arianna. Y'know, balance them out a little" Buffy said and Spike nodded.

"Averianna Faith and Arianna Elizabeth, sounds just perfect." Buffy once again smiled at the father of her children, leaning over and snuggling into him as he put his arm around her.

"I just can't wait to see their little faces."

"Me either, luv" Spike told her, kissing her forehead.

The next day, Buffy was at her mother's house hanging out with her, Faith and Dawn. She hadn't seen her twin in a few days and missed her terribly, not being used to not seeing her every day.

"So, we decided on names for the girls" Buffy told her mother and sisters as Joyce handed her a glass of lemonade.

"Really? That's great, honey" Joyce told her, sitting down next to Buffy and Faith on the couch; Dawn was seated Indian style on the floor in front of them.

"What are they?" Dawn asked eagerly.

"Averianna Faith and Arianna Elizabeth" Buffy told them. Faith looked at her and smiled.

"Really? Wow, that's… I'm honored" Faith told her and Buffy smiled back.

"What do you think, Dawnie? We're calling Averianna Averi for short" she told her.

"Like my middle name" Dawn said happily. "That's cool. Are you spelling it the same as my middle name is spelled?"

"No" Buffy told her. "We're spelling Averianna, A-V-E-R-I-A-N-N-A and Averi is gonna be spelled A-V-E-R-I, not with a Y" Buffy told her.

"Still, I'm happy you're naming her that" Dawn said, getting off the floor and hugging her sister. "Thank you!" Buffy chuckled, patting her baby sister on the back. Dawn let her go and took her seat back on the floor and Buffy turned her attention to her mother.

"So, what do you think, mom?" Buffy asked.

"They're beautiful names" Joyce smiled, taking her daughter's hand. "And I think it's so sweet you're naming them after your sisters." She kissed Buffy on the forehead and then stood up, heading for the kitchen. "So, who's hungry? Lunch?"

"Definitely" Buffy said, standing up with the help of Faith and Dawn. "I'm starving, as always."

"Okay, come into the kitchen and I'll make my girls some sandwiches" Joyce told them and they followed her into the kitchen. As Buffy stepped into the kitchen, she stopped abruptly, causing Dawn to bump into her back.

"Hey, watch it, preggerz" Dawn joked.

"Dawn Avery Summers" Joyce scolded, then turned her attention to Buffy who was looking at her feet. The look on her daughter's face told her something was wrong. "Sweetheart, what's the matter?" Buffy looked up at her, a look of worry on her face.

"I think my water just broke" Buffy said, her voice a little shaky. Joyce looked down and noticed the puddle of fluid at her daughter's feet.

"Oh, my" Joyce said, going over to the blonde's side. "Okay, we need to get you to the hospital."

"The babies are coming?" Dawn asked excitedly. Buffy cringed in pain.

"Ah!"

"Yes, the babies are coming" Joyce told her youngest, taking Buffy's hand and helping her to the door. "Faith, grab the keys and my purse, please. We gotta go."

"Someone call Spike, please. I need him and he can't miss this" Buffy pleaded.

"On it" Faith said, grabbing Buffy's cellphone as they left the house. Joyce helped Buffy into the front seat of her minivan and everyone else piled in after. Joyce drove quickly, but carefully in the direction of the hospital. On the way, Faith dialed Spike's number.

"Hello?" she heard his voice on the other end after just two rings. Being that she called from Buffy's phone, Spike answered quickly like he always did.

"Spike, it's Faith" Faith said.

"Hey, pet, why are you calling from Buffy's—" he began to ask, but Faith didn't let him finish.

"B's in labor" she said quickly. "We're on our way to the hospital. Can you get all the stuff she and the babies are gonna need and meet us there asap?"

"Oh my god, is she okay?" Spike asked hurriedly.

"She's in a bit of pain, but she's okay" Faith said and Spike heard Buffy's cries on the other end.

"Oh, god! More than a little pain!" Buffy yelled to the back. "Tell him to hurry!"

"I'll be there as soon as I can, I'm leaving now. Tell Buffy it'll be okay and I'll be there shortly, and tell her I love her" Spike said in one breath and then hung up.

"He said he's leaving now and will be there soon and he loves you" Faith told her as Joyce pulled into the hospital parking lot. She dropped Faith and Buffy off at the door and then quickly went to park as Faith helped her sister into the emergency room.

"Woman in labor here!" Faith called as they made it up to the front desk.

"Full term?" the woman behind the desk asked.

"I'm… I'm 36 weeks—ah!" Buffy tried to say, but cried in pain as another contraction hit her.

"Okay, wheelchair, please" she called to another nurse behind the desk and the nurse brought a wheelchair over to Buffy and she sat down. "Wheel her to labor and delivery, she's in labor" the nurse told the other who nodded. Joyce and Dawn hurried into the emergency room as the nurse began to wheel Buffy away. Joyce, Faith and Dawn followed the nurse as she wheeled Buffy to the elevator and up to the labor and delivery floor. After letting the nurses up there know about her, they took over, taking Buffy into one of the empty rooms and getting her changed into a gown and helped her into bed.

"Where's Spike?" Buffy asked once she was settled in bed. As another contraction hit her, she began to cry, feeling scared and emotional.

"It's okay, baby" Joyce told her daughter, giving Buffy her hand to squeeze until the contraction subsided. "He'll be here soon." Just as her mother finished her sentence, Spike ran into the room, out of breath.

"I'm here!" he almost yelled as Joyce moved out of the way so he could take her place at Buffy's side. "I'm here, baby, how are you?"

"Just freakin dandy" Buffy said sharply. Spike smiled at his girl, kissing her on her now sweaty forehead.

"We're gonna meet our daughters today" he told her sweetly and she smiled at him.

"Okay…" the doctor said as she came into the room. "Hello, Buffy. How are you feeling?"

"Okay between contractions" Buffy said as she felt another contraction hit. "Oh, god, ow!" Spike took her hand, letting her squeeze it as she cringed in pain. "Ow, ow, ow, OW! "

"Just breathe, baby, breathe. It'll be over in a few seconds" Spike assured her. After a few moments, she loosened the grip on his hand and breathed with relief, laying her head back down on the pillows.

"Okay, it's gone" Buffy said.

"Well, why don't we check you to see how far along you are" the doctor said. "Can we have everyone but the father step out for a moment, please?"

"Okay, we'll be right outside, honey" Joyce told her daughter and she, Faith and Dawn left the room. The doctor did her internal exam and then removed her gloves.

"Okay, well, you're already 6cm dilated. At this rate, you should be pushing in no time" the doctor told her.

"Okay" Buffy said.

"I'll be back in a half an hour to check you again. What did you want to do for pain? If you want an epidural, we need to do that very soon before it's too late" the doctor said.

"Yeah, I want an epidural" Buffy said and the doctor nodded.

"Okay, I'll get a hold of the anesthesiologist. If, in the meantime, you feel pressure down by your bottom and the urge to push, let us know, okay?" the doctor said and Buffy nodded. The doctor gave her a smile before leaving, allowing her mother and sisters to reenter the room.

"You okay, baby?" Spike asked, seeing the apprehensive look on Buffy's face.

"Just nervous" Buffy told him. "I've obviously never done this before; I don't know what it's gonna be like."

"Once you get the epidural it'll be okay, sweetie" Joyce assured her.

An hour later, Buffy had gotten her epidural and was feeling much better. The doctor had checked her a couple minutes earlier and she was now 10cm and it was time to push.

"Well, Buffy, I have to say you've had the quickest labor of any first-time mother I've ever seen" the doctor told her with a chuckle. "Are you ready to push those babies out?"

"No" Buffy said and got chuckles from her mother and Spike. "I think the epidural's waring off, it's hurting again."

"Okay, but the sooner you get them out the sooner you'll be out of pain, honey" Joyce told her. Buffy suddenly felt pressure and the sudden need to push.

"Oh, god!" Buffy said, pushing without even meaning to. "I can't help it."

"It's okay, Buffy, keep pushing" the doctor said and Buffy pushed to the count of ten. "Good."

"Good, baby, you're doing great" Spike said, reaching for her hand, but she pushed him away.

"Don't touch me! This is all your fault, you did this to me, dammit! You're never touching me again—ughhh!" she ranted, but was interrupted by having to push again. Feeling the overwhelming pain, she suddenly felt the need to hold Spike's hand again. "I'm sorry, Spike. I love you, please hold my hand!" Spike smiled lovingly at her, wiping the tears out of her eyes and then taking her hand.

"It's okay, baby, just breathe, I'm right here" he told her, kissing her hand. She squeezed his hand tightly as another contraction hit her.

"I can see the first baby's head, Buffy. Push now, sweetheart" the doctor told her and she did as instructed, not really having a choice as the contraction was making her body push the baby out.

"Oh, fuck!" Buffy yelled through gritted teeth as she pushed hard and then collapsed on the pillows again.

"Okay, give me another good push, Buffy" the doctor said. Buffy panted, exhausted.

"I don't know if I can" she said, tears streaming down her face. "It hurts so bad" she cried, looking at Spike. Spike kissed her forehead, still holding on to her hand.

"You can do this, baby, for our daughters" he told her and she nodded, pushing as hard as she could.

"Okay, head's out, Buffy. Stop pushing for a moment" the doctor said and Buffy stopped. The doctor quickly suctioned out her nose and mouth. "Okay, give me one more, tiny push." Buffy pushed lightly and the rest of the baby came out.

"She's here!" Spike almost shouted happily. The doctor put twin A on Buffy's chest. Crying happy tears, Buffy put her arms around the tiny little girl as the nurse cleaned her off with the blanket she was laid on.

"She's so gorgeous!" Buffy exclaimed through tears, kissing the baby on her forehead. As she did, she felt another contraction hit her hard. "Oh, god!"

"Okay, Buffy, twin B is wanting to come out sooner than we thought so you're gonna have to push again" the doctor told her as the nurse took the first twin off of her chest to clean her up, weigh her and wrap her in a clean blanket. Buffy nodded and pushed through the pain.

"Oh, god, it hurts."

"I know it does, push through the pain, sweetheart" the doctor told her and she pushed with all she had. The baby's head came out shortly after her second push. "Okay, head's out, stop pushing for a second." She suctioned the baby's nose and mouth as she did with the first twin. "One more small push, Buffy." Buffy did as instructed and the baby came out and was quickly placed on Buffy's chest.

"Oh, look at her!" Buffy said.

"She's as beautiful as her sister" Spike said, tears now falling down his own cheeks. The baby was taken over to where her twin was and she was cleaned off as well, weighed, and wrapped in her own blanket and a hat was put on her head. Both babies were wailing, the most beautiful sound Buffy had ever heard.

"How much do they weigh?" Buffy asked as the babies were brought over to the new parents. Baby A was placed in Buffy's arms and baby B was handed to Spike. As soon as they were placed in their parents' arms, they stopped crying, as if they knew they were safe and loved.

"Twin A, born at 4:42pm, weighs 5lbs 13oz and is 19in long; and twin B, born at 4:46pm, weighs 5lbs 9oz and is 18 ½in long" the nurse told her. Buffy couldn't help the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. She looked over to Spike and noticed he had tears in his eyes as well. She smiled at him as he looked at her and he smiled back, leaning over and kissing her lightly on the lips.

"I love you so much and I'm so proud of you, baby" Spike whispered to her, kissing her forehead.

"I love you too" Buffy smiled and they turned their attention back to their new babies.

"Okay, you have to deliver the placentas now, Buffy" the doctor told her and Buffy nodded, still holding on to twin A. She quickly pushed out both placentas, barely noticing because of the bundles she had just brought into the world. "So, do you have names for your girls?" the doctor asked as she fixed Buffy up. Buffy and Spike looked at each other and then down at their little bundles of joy and smiled brightly.

"Yeah, she's Averianna Faith" Buffy said, looking down at the baby she was holding.

"And this is Arianna Elizabeth" Spike said, smiling down at the baby he had in his own arms.

"Beautiful names and beautiful babies" the nurse smiled.

"They sure are" the doctor agreed.

An hour later, Buffy was all fixed up, the babies were looked at by the pediatrician and given a clean bill of health and Buffy and Spike were resting happily with their daughters. No one had seen them yet, but Joyce, since there was only one other person allowed in the delivery room. Buffy's sisters and friends were dying to see the little girls and, finally, were allowed to go back.

"Can we come in, sweetie?" Joyce asked, knocking on the door and peeking her head in. Buffy smiled brightly.

"Of course, come in" she said to her mother. Joyce entered, Faith, Dawn, Willow, Tara, Xander and Cordelia right behind her.

"Oh my gosh!" Dawn squealed, rushing over to her big sister to see her new nieces. "They're beautiful!"

"Thank you" Buffy smiled.

"Who's who?" Faith asked, sitting on the edge of her twin's bed.

"I have Averi" Spike smiled, looking down at the sleeping baby in his arms.

"And I have Ari" Buffy told them, smiling proudly as well.

"Can we hold them, Buffy?" Dawn asked.

"Ooh, yeah, I wanna hold them too!" Willow said happily, Tara smiled at her girlfriend.

"Of course, everyone can have a turn" Spike told them.

"Well, as grandmother, I get first dibs" Joyce smiled. Buffy smiled back at her mother and handed over Arianna to her.

"And being the twin sister, I do too" Faith beamed, going over to Spike who handed her Averianna. Joyce and Faith sat on the couch that was in the room and everyone else gathered around them, leaving Spike and Buffy alone by Buffy's bed. Spike looked over to his girl and noticed she had her eyes closed and her head was laid on her pillows.

"You okay, luv?" he asked her, stroking her head. Buffy opened her eyes and smiled weakly at him.

"Yeah, just exhausted" she told him. He smiled back at her, leaning down and kissing her lips.

"Do you know how much I love you?" he asked her. "I'm so unbelievably proud of you, baby. You were amazing today."

"I just did what I was hold" Buffy said modestly and Spike shook his head.

"No, you were incredible" he assured her. "You made me the happiest man on Earth, you know that, right?" Her weak smile became full on as her eyes filled with tears.

"You're gonna make me cry" she told him and he kissed her lips again.

"So, who was heavier?" Willow asked and Buffy and Spike looked over to the group, realizing they had forgotten they were even there.

"Averi weighs more at 5lbs 13oz and Ari weighs 5lbs 9oz" Buffy told them.

"They were only 4 minutes apart too" Spike added. "Averianna was born at 4:42pm and Arianna was born at 4:46."

"They look so much alike for being fraternal twins" Cordelia piped up.

"Yeah, I thought that too" Buffy said with a yawn.

"Okay, my turn" Dawn said, reaching for Averianna and Faith gently handed her over to her little sister.

"Can I hold Ari, Joyce?" Willow asked and Joyce nodded, handing over the baby to the read head. Joyce and Faith got up off the couch so Dawn could sit to hold the baby easier.

"You wanna sit, Will?" Faith asked, but Willow shook her head.

"Nope, I'm good" she said, walking slowly around the room, gazing lovingly at the baby girl in her arms.

After about an hour, everyone had gotten a turn to hold the babies. Spike had taken Arianna and Joyce was holding Averianna, bouncing her lightly as she began to cry a bit. Joyce looked over at her daughter, noticing she had fallen asleep.

"Maybe we should go and let the new parents get some rest" Joyce suggested to the group of teens.

"Well, I'm not getting any sleep any time soon, too wired, but Buffy's exhausted" Spike told her.

"Okay, we'll be back later" Joyce told him, handing Averianna to him before grabbing her purse and coat. "Come on, Dawnie. Faith, we'll meet you at home." Faith nodded and Joyce and Dawn left.

"See ya, Spike" Faith said.

"We'll talk to you guys later" Willow whispered.

"Okay, thanks for coming, you guys" Spike said. Willow smiled.

"Of course" she said, kissing him on the cheek and leaving with Tara.

"Congratulations, man" Xander told him, shaking his hand and he and Cordelia left. Faith was the las to leave the room after giving Spike a hug and kissing her baby nieces.

Once everyone had left and Spike was left alone with his three girls, he sighed, the day's events catching up to him. He looked down at the sleeping bundles in his arms and smiled, retiring to the couch to make himself more comfortable.

"Hey, Averi, hey Ari. I haven't really had the chance to introduce myself" Spike whispered to his daughters. "I'm your daddy and I love you two and your mother more than anything in life." Buffy, who was awake now, pretended to be asleep so as to not disturb Spike's talk with their babies. "Your mommy is an amazing woman" he continued. "She's the most incredible, strong, loving woman I've ever met and I couldn't be luckier to be able to share you two with her. I promise you that I'll only treat you two and your mother with kindness and I'll do nothing but love and cherish you three for the rest of my life." He kissed them both on the forehead and continued staring at his little miracles. Still silent, Buffy felt tears in her eyes as she now turned to face the father of her daughters. Noticing her, Spike smiled. "Oh, hey, luv. I didn't know you were awake."

"Just woke up" Buffy lied, not wanting him to know she had heard everything he had said. Spike came over to her, handing over Arianna and Buffy sat up slightly so she could take the infant.

"How are you feeling, pet?"

"Amazing" Buffy told him, a smile still glued to her face. "How are you?"

"I couldn't be better, luv" Spike told her. "We're a family now. I just can't wait to take our girls home and live our lives together…forever."

"Me either" Buffy told him and he leaned down, kissing her lips lovingly.


	12. Chapter 12

After spending two days in the hospital, Buffy and Spike were finally allowed to take their babies home. As Buffy got the girls ready to leave, Spike went to get their car seats—which he had accidentally left at home in a hurry when Buffy went into labor—and Joyce, Faith and Dawn kept Buffy company until Spike returned.

"They're just the cutest babies I've ever seen" Dawn gushed as she rocked Arianna in the rocking chair.

"Yeah, you and Spike made some adorable kids, B" Faith smiled at her twin as she watched her change Averianna's diaper and put her in her go-home outfit.

"They're definitely keepers" Buffy smiled as well. After putting Averi in the sleeper Willow had bought for the girls—Ari already dressed in the other one—she picked up the infant and kissed her on her little lips before handing her to Joyce. "Here, will you hold her while I get everything else together so I don't forget anything?"

"Of course" Joyce smiled, taking Averi from her daughter. "Hello, my sweet grandbaby."

"Dawnie, let me have Ari" Faith said. Dawn pouted, but handed over the baby anyway, not wanting to start an argument. "Where's Spike? He's been gone a while."

"He just texted and said he was on his way" Buffy told her, looking at her phone. She put the phone in her back pocket and went around the room gathering all her stuff and packing it back in her bag. As she stood there, looking around for anything she might have missed, Spike came into the room with two car seats in his hands. Buffy didn't want them to have the same car seats; she hated the whole thing about dressing twins the same and giving them the same things like car seats or bedding. Averi's car seat was zebra print, lined in hot pink and Ari's car seat was dark gray and had pink, purple, orange and green peace signs on it.

"Hey, luv" Spike said, putting the car seats on the hospital bed that already had Buffy's bag and the twins' diaper bags on it—Averi's diaper bag being hello kitty and Ari's was black with pink, purple and orange chevron stripes.

"Hey, baby, you're here, good" Buffy said, taking Ari from Faith. "Let's get the girls in their seats and get the hell outta here." As Buffy secured Arianna in her seat, Spike took Averianna and put her in her seat as well.

"Okay, guys. We'll meet you at your house, yes?" Joyce asked.

"Yeah, see you gals there" Spike said. Joyce kissed her daughter on the cheek before her and her other two daughters left.

A nurse brought a wheelchair over for Buffy. Even though Buffy insisted she could walk, it was hospital policy so she just gave up and let them wheel her outside, Ari's seat on her lap while Spike carried Averianna's along with the diaper bags and Buffy's bag. Once everyone was in the car and the bags were in the trunk, Spike started the car and headed for their apartment.

A few minutes later, Spike pulled into their apartment parking lot and he and Buffy got out and then got their babies out. They each took a diaper bag as well and Spike insisted on carrying Buffy's bag for her, not wanting her to over-exert herself. They got in the elevator and took it to the third floor and finally got to their apartment door. After Spike unlocked the door, he let Buffy in before him and then entered himself, shutting the door behind him. He followed Buffy into the living room and they both set the babies' seats on the coffee table, both of them sitting on the couch in front of their daughters.

"How are you, baby?" Spike asked Buffy who sighed and sat back on the couch.

"I'm great" she smiled. "Just a little tired."

"I reckon we'll both be exhausted after a couple days of these two keeping mommy and daddy up all night" Spike smiled, looking at the two sleeping babies. Buffy smiled as well, sitting back up to lean against her boyfriend who put his arm around her, kissing her forehead.

"That's fine with me. They can wake mommy up whenever they please" Buffy said in baby talk.

"Let's get you two nibblets out of those seats, huh?" Spike said and he and Buffy unbuckled them and carefully took them out, leaning back and cuddling them in their arms. "So, how does it feel to be a mommy, luv?"

"It's…incredible" Buffy said. "I can't even explain it. It just feels like we've had them all along."

"I know what you mean, pet" Spike said, kissing Averi on the forehead.

"How do you feel about being a daddy?" Buffy asked and he gave her a beaming smile, his whole face lighting up.

"Bloody wonderful!" he exclaimed, standing up and placing Averi in their pack-and-play near the couch. He then took Ari from Buffy and placed her next to her sister and joined his girl back on the sofa. She hooked her arm with his, taking his hand and laying her head on his shoulder, yawning a bit.

"Have I told you how much I love you lately?" he asked her and she smiled, looking up at him.

"Yes" she said. "But I never get tired of hearing it."

"I love you, baby" he said.

"I love you too" she told him, leaning up and capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. She let go of his hand so she could turn her body to get better access at his mouth as his tongue slid into her mouth, rubbing against hers. Just as the kiss got a little more heated, the door opened and Joyce, Faith and Dawn walked in.

"Eh-hem!" Faith cleared her throat to make their presence known and Spike reluctantly broke the kiss. "You guys know that's what led to these two little angels, right?" she joked. "And besides, don't you have to wait like a month before getting back to bouncy-fun time?"

"Oh, Faith, that's disgusting" Joyce scolded her daughter.

"And it's 6 weeks unfortunately" Buffy corrected her twin.

"Okay, TMI, girls" Joyce said, desperate for them to stop. Buffy and Faith smirked at each other while Spike just shook his head.

"Where are my nieces?" Dawn asked, changing the subject.

"They're in the pack-and-play sleeping" Buffy told her. Dawn went over to the pack-and-play and looked down lovingly at the twin sleeping babies.

"Can I hold one of them?" Dawn asked.

"Sure" Spike told her. Dawn smiled and picked up Arianna and Joyce went over and picked up Averi.

"Oh, Grammy just loves you both so much" Joyce gushed as she went over and sat in the recliner. Spike looked over and saw Buffy yawn.

"You wanna go take a nap, baby?" he asked her, but she shook her head.

"No, I'm not gonna do that. There's two babies here who need to be taken care of."

"Sweetheart, it's okay. Dawnie, Faith and I can stay and help Spike" Joyce told her daughter.

"Besides, if they leave before you wake up, I can certainly take care of both of my babies by myself" Spike said in a tone that said Buffy didn't trust him to be alone with both girls.

"Baby, I have no doubt you can care for both of them by yourself" Buffy assured him. "I just didn't want you to have to when I'm right here."

"But you're exhausted" Spike reminded her.

"Yeah, Buffy" Dawn agreed. "You just pushed two babies out your hoo-ha."

"Dawnie!" Joyce scolded with a chuckle.

"What? It's true" Dawn said innocently and Joyce just shook her head at her youngest.

"Well…" Buffy thought for a moment after yawning again. "Maybe just a little catnap." She really was exhausted and could barely keep her eyes open. She thought, why not take them up on their offer while she still can.

"Come on, luv" Spike said, standing up and pulling her up with him. "Let me tuck you into bed." Buffy let him lead her into the bedroom and put her in bed. After covering her with their bedspread, he leaned down and kissed her on her lips softly.

"I love you" she told him with another yawn as she rolled on her side. He smiled at her.

"I love you too, Goldilocks" he told her before leaving their bedroom and shutting the door. He went back over to the other Summers women and sat back down on the couch where Faith and Dawn were already seated.

"I'm glad she's getting some rest" Joyce said. "She needs it."

"Yeah, she really does" Spike agreed, looking toward the bedroom. "She's my incredible girl."

"So, Spike, how does it feel to be a daddy to twins?" Faith asked, looking from Arianna to Averianna and then to Spike.

"I reckon the same it would feel being a daddy to one" Spike shrugged. "But the daddy part is incredible, astonishing, mind-shatteringly amazing" he said with a grin. Joyce smiled at him. She hadn't been very happy that her sixteen-year-old daughter had gotten pregnant, but—since it did happen—she was glad it was with a man who she knew for a fact loved her with all his heart and soul; and Spike did, immensely.

"They really are some gorgeous baby girls" Joyce said.

"Well of course" Spike agreed. "They look like their mother."

"Buffy said they were fraternal, but they look exactly alike to me" Dawn said as she rocked Arianna lightly back and forth.

"Their looks might change a bit as they grow" Spike said.

"Well" Dawn said. "Mary-Kate and Ashley are fraternal twins but they're identical."

"Are you gonna dress them alike?" Joyce asked, but Spike shook his head.

"No, definitely not. Buffy was very clear about not wanting to do that. She hates it when people give their twins rhyming names and dress them alike. She says that they both have their own identities and should be treated as such; I have to say I agree" Spike told her and Joyce nodded.

"Yeah, I do too" the new grandmother said, kissing Averianna on the forehead.

"Okay, Dawn, hand Ari over" Faith said and Dawn kissed the infant on the head before handing her to her big sister. Faith stood up with Arianna, walking around the apartment with her. "I can't believe my twin sister—my best friend—is a mommy. We always talked about how cool it would be if we got pregnant at the same time and had our babies together, but…"

"Well, I, for one, am glad you both weren't pregnant. I don't need two pregnant teenagers" Joyce joked. "I wasn't very happy that Buffy got pregnant at such a young age, but, I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. Now that my grandbabies are here, I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Me either" Spike smiled. "Trust me, we certainly didn't plan this, but I couldn't imagine not having them now that they're here."

"Well, with as much as you two were banging, didn't you ever think about the possibility that B might get knocked up?"

"Oh, Faith!" Joyce scolded. Faith smirked when Spike's face turned red.

"Uh…no, I honestly never thought that could happen. I mean, obviously I know how babies are made, but… Yeah, let's not talk about this, please" he said, feeling embarrassed to be discussing his and Buffy's sex life in front of her mother.

"Yes, let's please change the subject" Joyce pleaded, not wanting to discuss it either. Just then, Averianna stirred and began to cry. When she did, Arianna woke and began to whimper as well.

"Oh, sounds like they're hungry" Spike said. "I'll go heat up some bottles." He went into the kitchen and made two bottles, heating them in the two bottle warmers they had gotten at Buffy's baby shower. Once they were warm, but not too hot, he came back into the living room and gently took Arianna from Faith so he could feed her and gave Joyce Averi's bottle. The babies took to the bottles right away, fervently sucking away at the milk inside. Spike smiled down at the baby in his arms, loving every minute of being a daddy so far.

Joyce, Dawn and Faith left a while later and Spike was left alone with the twins. He sat on the couch, holding them both in his arms, looking back and forth between them lovingly. As he kissed them on the forehead, he heard the door to his and Buffy's bedroom open and saw her emerge a couple seconds later.

"Hey, beautiful" he whispered to her, smiling at the sight of her.

"Hi" she whispered back, coming over and taking Averianna before sitting next to Spike on the couch.

"How was your nap, baby?" he asked.

"Great" Buffy smiled. "Exactly what I needed."

"Told you" Spike said and she playfully rolled her eyes at him.

"When did my mom and sisters leave?"

"About fifteen minutes ago" Spike said as Buffy kissed Averi on the forehead. "Faith said she'd call you later."

"Okay" Buffy said. "I just still can't believe I'm a mommy. I mean, I guess it just hasn't sunk it yet. I look at them and… it just amazes me that we created these two perfect little people." Spike smiled at her, looking at his twins as well.

"I know what you mean, luv" he said. "I still haven't wrapped my mind around it yet either. They're… just so amazing."

"We can do this, right?" Buffy asked, looking at him. He looked at her with confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"I just mean… I want them to have a perfect life. I don't want them to want for anything and I don't want them to ever question if we love them or not" Buffy told him.

"They'll never question that, baby" Spike assured her. "And we're gonna give them the best life possible, but, we can't protect them from everything. They're gonna get broken hearts, gonna skin their knees, but they'll be happy; we all will."

"I believe you" Buffy told him with a smile. "I love you so much."

"And I love you, my perfect girl" he told her, leaning down and kissing her lips softly.


End file.
